Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among adults in the United States, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that about 209,000 people in the nation receiving a lung cancer diagnosis, and about 132,000 dying from the disease. The American Lung Association observes November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month to highlight both the risk factors of the disease and the measures that can be taken to prevent it.
There are a variety of occupational exposures in municipal government jobs that can contribute to lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, although control measures, training and monitoring can help reduce their dangers.
Silica dust exposure
Construction-type activities can expose workers to silica dust — things like sawing, grinding, sanding or drilling concrete, brick or stone. When the crystalline silica particles created by these activities are small enough, workers can breathe them in. This can lead to numerous serious health risks — lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established standards for protecting construction and general industry workers from respirable silica. These are aimed at reducing exposures through control plans, not only through personal protective equipment like respirators, but also controlling and limiting access to high-exposure areas, ongoing medical exams, and even methods of reducing dust at its source. Applying water to blades, or using water-integrated tools, can reduce the amount of dust created in the first place, and vacuums can help remove it as well.
Asbestos exposure
The properties of asbestos that make it heat- and corrosion-resistant once made asbestos a widely used construction material for insulation. However, its dangers of causing lung cancer and other diseases means that it has been heavily regulated since the 1970s, and it now often arises in the context of older buildings that have not undergone asbestos remediation. As with silica dust, OSHA has established standards for construction and industry workers that include monitoring exposure risk, hazard awareness training, PPE and potential medical monitoring.
Diesel exhaust exposures
Used across a wide variety of heavy equipment operations, diesel engines produce diesel particulate matter that can lead to respiratory disease and lung cancer. Diesel engines are also long-lived, and so many older and dirtier engines remain in operation. The Environmental Protection Agency offers resources for improved operational strategies, maintenance, retrofit devices and replacement at www.epa.gov/dera.
Firefighters and lung cancer
Fires of all types create toxic gases, particulates and liquids, including carcinogens. Because of the health risks they can face, fire departments have in recent years placed a growing focus on decontamination procedures for their personal protective gear, including an initial cleaning while still at the scene, changing gear before returning to the station, showering soon after a call, and decontamination facilities for equipment at the station. Many departments have also adopted a “clean-cab” concept for their fire engines, aiming to prevent contamination by keeping contaminated equipment out of the cab, using non-absorbent materials in the cab’s construction, as well as filtered ventilation systems.
In recent years, South Carolina has also developed a Firefighter Cancer Healthcare Benefit Plan covering firefighters for a variety of types of cancer. Its benefits include a one-time benefit of $20,000, annual out-of-pocket expenses reimbursements of up to $12,000, and a death benefit. Learn more about the program at www.scfirefighterscancer.com.
Find the OSHA standards for respirable crystalline silica and asbestos, as well as resources for evaluating and controlling exposure, at www.osha.gov.