Living in a chemical world: actions and reactions to industrial carcinogens

The synthesis of chemical substances has resulted in technological benefits for society and has also caused increased chemical exposures and risks of related cancers. Although progress has been made in cancer treatment, there has been little improvement in real survival time for people who develop the major forms. Therefore, the need to prevent cancer is paramount. The greatest chemical exposures and risk of associated preventable cancers are found in the workplace, but generally environmental exposures receive greater public attention. Chemical causes of cancer have been identified, and in some cases decades have passed before controls have been adequately instituted. Some companies show a high regard for worker health, while others may minimize or misrepresent the hazards to exposed workers. Medical personnel receive relatively little education in the recognition of industrially related diseases. Workers are often unaware of their risks or are trapped in jobs because of economic necessity, and government has been slow to regulate, in part because of lobbying efforts. Experience has shown that when chemicals are regulated relatively soon after they are identified as hazardous, lives are saved, and the industry is economically healthy; however, when regulation is delayed, thousands of people die unnecessarily, and the cost to industry and society are phenomenal. Society has the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned from these experiences as we address current problems of chemical pollution.