Sun Exposure and Cancer Outcomes (Incidence, Treatment, Survivorship) in Outdoor Workers

Outdoor workers in the Western United States (US), such as farm laborers, landscapers, and construction crews, face daily sun exposure far above safe limits, often up to ten times more than indoor workers, placing them at high risk for non-melanoma skin cancers and melanoma. Yet, despite decades of evidence, US regulations still do not classify solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation as a workplace hazard. Existing protections, like California’s heat illness rules, address temperature but ignore cumulative UV burden. In contrast, countries such as Australia and Germany treat solar UV as an occupational carcinogen and require employers to provide protective clothing, shade, and worker education. In the US, prevention remains inconsistent, weakened by regulatory gaps, poor data on work-related skin cancers, and barriers such as limited sunscreen use and cultural norms. These shortcomings fall hardest on immigrant and low-wage workers, who often have the least access to protection and care. This population-level occupational health case analysis calls for urgent policy reform to recognize solar UV as a workplace hazard and adopt stronger protections to reduce preventable skin cancer disparities.