A report on the International Occupational and Environmental Cancer Prevention Conference, Stirling University, Scotland, April 2008

Abstract

The conference examined research to develop policy and to influence practice and produce a coherent approach to occupational and environmental cancer prevention. The event flowed from “Hazards Magazine” reports on occupational cancer, the Global Unions’ Zero Occupational Cancer Campaign and a number of conferences for NGOs on the same subject held in the UK since 2006. Researchers, governmental and nongovernmental organisation staff and activists from across the world attended the conference that was followed by a day of workshops to further develop strategies on cancer prevention. Contributions from USA, Australia and France set the scene on assessing the occupational and environmental cancer burdens globally and how to use such data to develop preventive strategies. The World Health Organization (WHO) and European agencies’ approaches (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the European Environment Agency) that promoted either international campaigns or rigorous analyses of the past failures to act were outlined. A Canadian Cancer Prevention scheme was described that emphasised action now on carcinogens, and a well established and carefully evaluated United States approach that had also reduced the usage of carcinogens was presented. International and national trade union and NGO groups documented successfully tackling some of the global and local policy and practice challenges. Complexities and difficulties of effective cancer prevention in the workplace and wider environment were not neglected – in terms of assessing exposures, recording and reporting cancers and tackling new hazards such as nanotechnology. However, practical, cost-effective and workable solutions remained to the fore of the event.