{"id":476,"date":"2018-02-11T12:59:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-11T17:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.melanomaeducation.net\/?p=476"},"modified":"2019-07-06T15:46:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-06T15:46:22","slug":"occupational-risk-of-melanoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/occupational-risk-of-melanoma\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupational Risk of Melanoma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s likely that you have heard about some of the more highlighted workplace-related cancers. For example, the famously reported connection between asbestos, (a material at one time used in buildings and warehouses as a fire retardant) and lung cancer. But we rarely hear of any connections between specific vocations and melanoma<\/a>. Such relationships do exist, and within this post we\u2019ll address some of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Members of \u201cThe Bravest\u201d profession are unsung heroes. They routinely put their lives at stake to save the lives of others. Unfortunately, the dangers they face don\u2019t come exclusively from smoke and the flames they work so hard to extinguish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of heat that some fires are capable of generating is massive. When that heat consumes wood, plastics, polymers and oil-based products they release dangerous carcinogens. These include, (though are not limited to) soot, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins. Exposure to these chemicals increase the risk of melanoma in firefighters by 30-45%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying the Unfriendly Skies: Airline Pilots and Flight Crews<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of the millions of automobile drivers within the U.S. don\u2019t think about how much we\u2019re affected by the sun\u2019s harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays while driving the nation\u2019s roadways. (Auto glass is easily breached by UVA rays, which is why sunscreen should always be applied prior to lengthy drives).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not much different for airline pilots and flight crews. Research studies reveal that while aircraft windows block over 99% of UVB rays, they can allow 50% of UVA rays to penetrate. As a result, flight crews have around twice the risk of non-flight-based individuals. In fact, “Pilots flying for 56.6 minutes at 30\u2009000 feet receive the same amount of UV-A carcinogenic effective radiation as that from a 20-minute tanning bed session.\u201d <\/em>*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who may be unaware, \u201czero<\/strong>\u201d is always the correct answer to the question of how many minutes anyone should ever spend in a tanning bed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a passenger who has booked a coveted window seat, it\u2019s advisable to apply broad-spectrum sunscreen prior to departure and bring extra with you. Many \u201cdollar\u201d stores sell miniature tubes, which are perfect for air travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welders, Cooks and <\/strong>Ocular Melanoma<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While nothing has yet been definitively proven, studies have shown that there may be a link between occupational cooking, welding and ocular melanoma. The relevant source article cited below provides these specific causes regarding the former:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the cooking, workers may expose to many cooking fumes, high radiation from microwaves, strong light from incandescent ovens, and infrared radiation\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the latter, the flame of a welder\u2019s torch emits its\u2019 own UV rays. Welders also endure a higher risk for traditional melanoma, other skin cancers and skin damage in general. Particularly when the trade\u2019s protective suit, or parts of it such as gloves, are not worn while welding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Leather, Brewing and Printing Industries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leather workers, such as those who produce shoes, are exposed to the dangerous chemicals required to complete the tanning process. (Leather tanning, not sun tanning). Workers in the printing and brewing (and malt-processing) industries are likewise exposed to carcinogens specific to their trades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is of significant importance for employees working in these vocations to follow the safety regulations of their companies to the letter, along with the laws of common sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


* Additional information source articles: Firefighter Cancer<\/a>, Firefighters<\/a>, Airplane Pilots and Crew (A)<\/a>, Airplane Pilots and Crew (B), Airplane Pilots and Crew (C), Welders, Cooks and Ocular Melanoma, Swedish Study on Shoes, Breweries and Printing, SkinCancerOnly.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We rarely hear of any connections between specific vocations and melanoma, but such relationships do exist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27,43,56,64],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":929,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}