\u201cOccIDEAS asks workers about the tasks they do, the equipment they use and the protection measures that are in place, such as ventilation or face masks,\u201d Fritschi explains. \u201cThen based on the answers to these questions, complex algorithms automatically assess the whether a worker is likely to be exposed to different chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n
By automating this process, researchers\u2019 time is then freed up to focus on those people and workplaces that OccIDEAS has identified as high risk. Importantly, it also means that more people can be interviewed and a larger dataset captured.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraditionally, a lot of the emphasis on health research and in occupational health regulation has been on the big companies in the traditionally dirty industries. As a result, health and safety is a priority for these industries,\u201d Fritschi says. \u201cBut, 70 per cent of the Australian workplace are in small to medium-sized enterprises, which often don\u2019t prioritise or have expertise in occupational health and safety. With OccIDEAS, we can assess exposures in large numbers of people in a wide range of different jobs, including these smaller enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n
40 per cent of Australians exposed to carcinogens in the workplace<\/h3>\n
The improved datasets generated by OccIDEAS have also meant Fritschi and her colleagues have been able to develop a more accurate method for determining carcinogenic exposure at a national level.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing this new method, we\u2019ve showed that about 40 per cent of Australian workers are exposed to carcinogens in their current job,\u201d says Fritschi.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all bad news. Most workers who are exposed to carcinogens at work do not develop cancer, with the level of exposure playing a significant role.<\/p>\n
One of Fritschi\u2019s first studies investigated the link between pesticide use and lymphoma, the most common form of blood cancer in Australia. She found that people who sprayed pesticides had an increased risk of lymphoma, but only if they used a lot of pesticides.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go out now and again to spray your roses, you\u2019re not really increasing your risk of cancer,\u201d says Fritschi. \u201cHowever, people who are increasing their risk of cancer are people who mix pesticides, who spray it day after day, who clean up the equipment after spraying. These are the people for whom we need to prevent their exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work can be done to minimise exposure via what\u2019s known as the control hierarchy: that is, elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering and administrative controls, ranked in descending order of efficacy. Where exposures cannot be controlled by this hierarchy, personal protective equipment (or PPE) is the critical last line of defence.<\/p>\n
Workplace complacency a factor in continued exposure<\/h3>\n
PPE may be the last line of defence, but only if it is actually used. In May this year, Safe Work Australia released a report based on Fritschi\u2019s studies which investigated carcinogen exposures in the Australian construction industry. It found that although the industry is generally proactive in health and safety risk mitigation, there was a varied use of exposure controls. For the 96 per cent of construction workers who are likely to be exposed to at least one carcinogen at work (and of whom around half are likely to be exposed to at least four) this is particularly worrying.<\/p>\n
Carpenters were highlighted as an extreme area of concern. The nature of their work means they are highly likely to be exposed to carcinogenic wood dust, which has been shown to cause several adverse health effects including respiratory diseases, such as chronic asthma and nasal cancer. Yet the report found that 46 per cent of carpenters did not use any respiratory protective equipment or other control measures at work.<\/p>\n![\"Personal](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/shutterstock_282330944-792x420.jpg\")