10/12/2007
Shiftwork has been recognised officially as a "probable" cause of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer arm of the World Health Organisation, has said it will classify overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen after evidence was considered by a meeting of experts. Several studies have found that women working at night over many years are more prone to breast cancer. Some research also suggests that men working at night may have a higher rate of prostate cancer. "The problem is re-setting your body's clock," said Aaron Blair, of the US National Cancer Institute, who chaired IARC's October meeting that considered the shiftwork evidence. "If you worked at night and stayed on it, that would be less disruptive than constantly changing shifts." Unions said the findings reinforced the need for businesses to develop good guidelines around shiftwork. IARC experts also ranked occupational exposure as a painter as carcinogenic to humans and as a firefighter as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
