High cancer risk from wood dust exposure at the current occupational exposure limit
Occupational exposure to wood dust can entail a high risk of nasal cancer even at levels close the current Swedish occupational exposure limit. This is shown in a new scientific evaluation from the Nordic Expert Group for Criteria Documentation of Health Risks from Chemicals (NEG) and the Dutch expert committee DECOS, in which researchers at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) had a leading role.
The evaluation was done at the request of the work environment authorities in the Nordic countries and the Netherlands.
Wood dust is generated during the processing of wood, for example during sawing, sanding, and milling. According to the report, an estimated 3–4 million workers within the EU are exposed to wood dust at work, primarily in construction industry, furniture manufacturing, and wood processing.
The report identifies a clear link between long-term exposure to wood dust and nasal adenocarcinoma, a rare form of nasal cancer. The two committees have therefore calculated risk levels for different lifelong occupational exposure levels.
The calculations show that exposure to 2.9 mg/m³ of inhalable wood dust over a working lifetime corresponds to roughly four additional cases of nasal cancer per 1,000 workers. The current Swedish occupational exposure limit for inhalable wood dust is 2 mg/m³.
“Our calculations show that the cancer risk from long-term exposure to wood dust can be high even at levels close to today’s occupational exposure limit. This underscores the importance of reducing wood dust exposure at work,” says Gunnar Johanson, professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and chair of the Nordic Expert Group for criteria documentation.
The report is published simultaneously in Sweden and the Netherlands.