Occupations, Occupational Groups, or Industries Associated with Carcinogen Exposures
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What are examples of occupational exposures that have been associated with exposure to carcinogens?
Back to topExamples of occupations and occupational groups that are more likely to be exposed to cancer risk are listed in the table below.
Please note: This list was complied from information available from reputable sources, but it is not complete. It represents associations that have been reported in literature between occupations and examples of substances often linked to cancer that may have been used in the workplace.
Exposure to a carcinogen does not necessarily mean that you will develop cancer. The OSH Answers on Occupational Cancer has more information.
| Some Occupations or Occupational Groups Associated with Carcinogen Exposure | |
|---|---|
| Occupations, Occupational Groups, or Industry | Examples of suspect cancer causing agent(s) or substance(s) |
| Accommodation and food services, healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, trade, and other | Work at night (including rotating and night shift work) |
| Acheson process | Silica, silicon carbide |
| Aircraft and aerospace industries | Asbestos, beryllium and beryllium compounds; ceramic fibres (refractory; respirable), chromates, ionizing radiation, mixed solvents, shift work |
| Aluminum production | Aromatic amines; pitch volatiles |
| Asbestos cement industry | Asbestos |
| Auramine manufacture | Auramine; 2-naphthylamine; pigments |
| Automotive repair and maintenance | Asbestos, beryllium and beryllium compounds, ceramic fibres (refractory; respirable); diesel engine exhaust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), welding fumes |
| Battery production workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds, lead compounds |
| Beryllium extraction, processing, and production of beryllium compounds | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Boot and shoe manufacture/repair | Leather dust, benzene and other solvents |
| Bus and truck drivers; Dock workers; Filling station attendants; Mechanics; Operators of excavating machines; Professional drivers; Railroad workers; Transport industry | Diesel engine exhaust |
| Butchers and meat workers | Viruses, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) |
| Cadmium-copper alloy workers; Cadmium-smelter workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Carbon electrode manufacturing | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) |
| Carpentry and joinery; Furniture and cabinet making | Wood dust |
| Ceramic production and pottery workers, glazers | Cobalt and cobalt compounds; silica |
| Chemical and rubber industries | Aromatic amines; 1,3-butadiene; isoprene |
| Chemical industry | Acetamide; acrylamide; benzene |
| Chromate production plants; Chromium ferro-alloy production | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Coal gasification, coke production | Coal tar, coal-tar fumes; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) |
| Construction; Insulation and maintenance workers | Asbestos; beryllium and beryllium compounds, bitumens, diesel engine exhaust; glass wool; lead and lead compounds (inorganic); silica (crystalline); toluene diisocyanates, solar radiation, wood dust |
| Dry cleaning | Solvents such as carbon tetrachloride; tetrachloroethylene; trichloroethylene |
| Dye and pigment production | Aromatic amines (e.g., 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, ortho-toluidine); benzidine; cadmium and cadmium compounds; chromium (VI) compounds |
| Electrical capacitor manufacturing | Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) |
| Electronic production/industries | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; dichloromethane (methylene chloride); chromic acid, silica (crystalline), ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, sulfuric acid |
| Electroplating processes | Cadmium and cadmium compounds, chromium VI |
| Firefighters | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) |
| Furnace insulators | Ceramic fibres (refractory; respirable) |
| Furniture and cabinet makers | Wood dust |
| Furniture restorers | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Glass production workers | Arsenic and antimony oxides, asbestos, cobalt and cobalt compounds, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), silica |
| Hairdressers & barbers | Aerosols, dyes (aromatic amines, amino-phenols with hydrogen peroxide); propellants; solvents |
| Hematite mining; Uranium miners | Radon daughters; silica (crystalline) |
| Herbicide production | Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Hospitals | Ethylene oxide |
| Iron, steel, and ferro-alloy manufacturing, followed by other fabricated metal product manufacturing and building finishing contractor | Ceramic fibres (refractory; respirable) |
| Iron and steel founding | Formaldehyde; silica (crystalline), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chromium and nickel compounds, use of organic binder materials results in exposure to phenol, formaldehyde, isocyanates, and various amines |
| Isopropanol manufacture, strong-acid process | Isopropyl oils; propylene, diisopropyl sulfate, strong inorganic mist containing sulfuric acid |
| Jewellers | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Leather goods manufacturing including tanning | Benzidinde-based dyes, benzene, formaldehyde, leather dust, polychlorophenols and their sodium salts, chromium (VI) compounds |
| Magenta manufacture | Magenta; 4,4-methylene bis(2-methylaniline); ortho-nitrotoluene; ortho-toluidine |
| Manufacture of pottery, paper, paint, rubber, roofing, fertilizers, animal feed, and cosmetics | Talc containing asbestiform fibres |
| Metal degreasing | Tetrachloroethylene; trichloroethylene |
| Metal processing, lead-acid battery manufacturing, potato harvesting, manufacturing of chemicals, drugs, and ryon; oil refining | Strong-inorganic mists containing sulfuric acid |
| Mineral processing | Acrylamide |
| Miners (including underground) | Cobalt and cobalt compounds; x-radiation, gamma-radiation |
| Mining and milling | Asbestos |
| Mining of ores containing arsenic | Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds |
| Nickel refining and smelting; Welding | Nickel and nickel compounds; welding fumes |
| Nonferrous metal smelting | Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds |
| Nuclear industry; clean-up workers following nuclear accidents | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; x-radiation, gamma-radiation |
| Outdoor workers | Solar radiation |
| Paint stripping; Cleaning and degreasing | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride); 1,2,3-trichloropropane |
| Perfume preparation; Epoxy resin formulations; Styrene glycol production; Manufacture of cosmetics, surface coatings, agricultural and biological chemicals | Styrene-7,8-oxide |
| Petroleum refining and distribution | Acetaldehyde, asbestos, benzene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde (gas), fuels that contain carcinogens (e.g., leaded gasoline), fuel oils residual (heavy), hydrazine, metal welding fumes, lead and lead compounds, nickel oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), silica, vanadium oxides |
| Pharmaceutical production | Aniline, antineoplastic drugs, 2,4-diaminoanisole, ortho-anisidine and salt para-anisidine, dichloromethane (methylene chloride), N-nitrosodimethylamine |
| Pickling operations | Inorganic acid mists containing sulphuric acid |
| Plastics industries | Acetaldehyde; formaldehyde, acrylamide, acetamide; acrylonitrile; ethyl acrylate; isoprene; special purpose glass fibres (respirable); styrene; vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, o-toluidine, aniline, and nitrobenzene |
| Plating and engraving; Lithography; Photography | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Plutonium workers | X-radiation, gamma-radiation |
| Polyester resin manufacture; Production of packaging materials and fibreglass-reinforced polyester | Styrene |
| Printing processes | Pigments such as carbon black, titanium dioxide, lead chromate, lead compounds, cadmium and compounds, anthraquinone based dyes |
| Processing of copper and nickel ore | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Production and use of resins, glycerin and propylene-based rubbers | Epichlorohydrin |
| Production of art glass, glass containers, and pressed ware | Arsenic; antimony oxides; asbestos; lead; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); silica (crystalline) |
| Production of polyvinyl chloride and co-polymers | Vinyl chloride |
| Production, packaging, and use of arsenic-containing pesticides | Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds |
| Radiologists and technologists; radium-dial painters | X-radiation, gamma-radiation |
| Railroad workers, filling station attendants, bus and truck drivers, operators of excavating machines | Diesel engine exhaust |
| Roofers, asphalt workers | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) |
| Rubber manufacturing | Aromatic amines; solvents |
| Sheep dip manufacture | Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds |
| Sheet-metal workers | Asbestos |
| Shiftwork that involves circadian disruption | -- |
| Ship builders | Ceramic fibres (refractory; respirable); toluene diisocyanates |
| Shipyard workers | Asbestos |
| Stainless-steel welding | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Steel and lumber industries | Acrylamide |
| Synthetic latex production, tire curing, calendering* operatives, reclaim, cable makers *calendering is a finishing process used on cloth | Aromatic amines |
| Sugar production | Acrylamide |
| Textile manufacturing/industries | Acrylonitrile; textile dust in manufacturing process; dyes and solvents in dyeing and printing operations; formaldehyde |
| Vineyard workers using arsenic insecticides | Arsenic compounds, ultraviolet (UV) radiation |
| Water and wastewater treatment | Acrylamide; chromium (VI) compounds |
| Wood manufacturing | Pentachlorophenol; polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Wood preservation | Chromium (VI) compounds; pentachlorophenol |
| Wool fibre production | Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds |
| Workers in bars and restaurants | Tobacco smoke |
Adapted from:
Boffetta, P, et al. Current perspectives on occupational cancer risks. International journal of occupational and environmental health, Vol. 1, no. 4 (1995). p. 315-325
Carex: Carcinogen Profiles (various).
Occupational Medicine Clinical Update - Occupational Carcinogens - What makes it on the list. Fall 2005 - Occupational Health Workers for Ontario Workers Inc. (OHCOW)
Siemiatycki, J, et al. Listing occupational carcinogens. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 112, no. 15 (2004). p. 1447-1459
International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2023. List of Classifications: Agents classified by the IARC Monographs. As viewed on February 27, 2023
Occupational Cancer Research Centre. Burden of occupational cancer in Canada: Major workplace carcinogens and prevention of exposure. Toronto, ON: 2019
- Fact sheet last revised: 2023-04-13