Sun Safety Under the Spotlight in the UK

The development of sun safe strategies in the workplace could be the key to preventing thousands of skin cancer cases in the UK, according to experts.

Diagnosed each year in Britain are at least 1,500 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and 240 new cases of malignant melanoma linked to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure at work.

And although UVR is classified as a group 1 carcinogen, it is rarely highlighted as a major risk factor and many countries have yet to recognise it as an occupational disease.

In the European Union however, more than 14.5 million workers are regularly exposed to solar UV radiation for more than 75% of their daily working hours. It is estimated that the burden of occupational skin diseases costs more than €5bn a year.

But 90 per cent of all skin cancer deaths could be prevented if employers and their employees took proper precautions.

Earlier this month, The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) took advantage of Sun Awareness Week to urge employers to save lives by developing ‘sun safe strategies’ in the workplace. These proposed strategies would include regular updates on the UV index from weather forecasts, minimising sun exposure in the middle of the day, regularly swapping jobs among team members and requesting that employees wear long-sleeved, loose-fitting clothing.

Research Manager at IOSH Mary Ogungbeje said Britain was seeing a rise in both malignant melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, with sun exposure being the leading cause. Sixty workers die from skin cancer every year in Britain alone, and Ogungbeje said outdoor workers were at a much higher risk due to the nature of their roles.

“The majority of skin cancer deaths can be prevented if people control their exposure to solar UV radiation. There are a range of ways businesses can adapt to better protect workers, from minimising exposure to direct sunlight in the middle part of the day to ensuring outdoor workers wear appropriate clothing.”

According to IOSH it is essential that managers, workers, and the wider public understand the importance of good sun safety and take steps to mitigate the risks.

Ogungbeje said that through their No Time to Lose (NTTL) campaign, IOSH was raising awareness of occupational cancer and some of the most common causes, including solar radiation.

“To help businesses develop sun safety strategies, we’ve developed a range of free practical resources to help prevent exposure. These resources can be downloaded at www.notimetolose.org.uk.”

In Paris last month IOSH presented the solar radiation phase of NTTL during a multi-stakeholder summit on occupational skin cancer, organised by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV).

More than 40 high-level representatives from medical and public health organisations, patient advocacy groups and trade unions came together to discuss how best to improve workplace sun safety, provide earlier and better access to treatments and improve reporting and registration of NMSC cases.

UVR is a risk that particularly affects outdoor workers, who receive 5-10 times the annual sun exposure of indoor workers.

Outdoor workers in construction, farming, fishing, recreation, sports and public services are regularly exposed to UVR for more than 75 per cent of their daily working hours. With five or more years of outdoor work, the risk of developing skin cancer increases significantly.

IOSH funded new research this year to better understand workers’ attitudes toward sun safety. Led by researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, the research investigated whether, along with organisational support, an intervention in the form of a combination of short messages delivered to workers’ smartphones could keep workers safe and healthy.

The messages would encourage workers to reduce their exposure to UV radiation in summer and increase their vitamin D intake when a healthy amount of sun exposure cannot be easily maintained.