Cancer In The Workplace: “Safe Enough” Can Hide Dangers.

Cancer In The Workplace: “Safe Enough” Can Hide Dangers.
This is the third in our series on how workplace health and safety can elevate cancer risks, and how to control potential problems. This article focuses on hidden cancer dangers lurking in occupation safety issues.
– by Isaac Rudik

Only a madman or a fool would work with dimethyl sulphate without wearing a certified safety mask to protect against inhaling its lethal fumes.

Yet even a conscientious employer may not spot hidden dangers in what is otherwise thought of as a “safe” plant.

Not long ago, a company brought us in to conduct a thorough compliance audit in an attempt to hold the line of its insurance premiums, which the insurer was threatening to hike. As we walked through the facility, the chief operating officer pointed proudly to the numerous health and safety measures the company had installed over the past few years. When we came to a sealed part of the plant where dimethyl sulphate was being used, he began telling me about how insistent the supervisors, managers and executives are about workers being masked at all times.

That’s when I grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him hard towards the exit. Shocked and surprised, as I tugged him away he gave me one of those “are you nuts or something?” looks that comes from disbelief and what, to him, was my incomprehensible behaviour. Once we were safely outside the workspace, I removed my mask and told him, “That place is a breeding ground for cancer.”

What caused me to backtrack so rapidly was the stunning sight of a half dozen workers, all wearing proper breathing apparatus, yet some were working in short sleeved shirts and none wore adequate eye protection. I pointed out that regardless of how powerful the ventilating system is in the room, particulate-sized carcinogens from dimethyl sulphate can enter the body through the skin and eyes.

Never Safe Enough

Needless to say, the COO who was so proud of what his company does to protect workers was stunned. He admitted that it never occurred to him or anyone else at the factory, whether shop floor workers or corner office executives, that they were unknowingly creating a risk despite their sincere, best efforts to create and maintain a safe workplace.

The problem is that dimethyl sulfate and many other common chemicals used in a number of manufacturing processes can cause severe external burns when skin contact is made and damages internal organs if it enters the body through the skin. As a result, strong ventilation systems and individual breathing apparatus for workers are not enough to remove the danger.

Consequently, anyone working around such compounds needs more protection including overalls, and goggles. The entire workplace should be fitted with a spill contamination system. In fact, the government lists 60 precautions that companies need to undertake. Some of these include:
• Always keep the material locked inside proper storage containers when not being used.
• Always store according to MSDS.
• Keep the material away from break rooms and cafeterias.
• Store containers in a well-ventilated place.
• Be sure that ignition sources are kept far from the material.
• Never eat or drink when using the compound.
• Whenever leaving the work area, remove clothing that may be contaminated.
• If a worker begins to feel ill, seek medical advice immediately.
• Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on recycling.

Real Risks

The risks from dimethyl sulphate and other cancer-causing chemicals are very real yet the dangers can be totally hidden – even from companies that believe they are taking care to protect vulnerable workers.

When so many types of protection are relatively inexpensive and easy to use, there is no excuse for a business of any size not to ensure that workplace health and safety issues are thoroughly addressed.






Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.


E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.