Avoiding the sun is not always an option. For many people, skin cancer is also an occupational hazard: though in certain cases it remains to be recognised as such by the relevant authorities.
Construction workers, farmers, employees of beach clubs and lidos, postal workers, police and AFM officers, and other employees who conduct their work out in the open... all are exposed by their profession to skin cancer risks.
Professor Joseph Pace argues that it is high time the risk is recognised where it matters most.
“We have obtained adequate sun protection for outdoor workers in some situations, but have not yet managed to get skin cancer included in the list of occupational diseases: a logical outcome for these workers given that sunlight is a known carcinogen!”
Pace reasons that employees who contract skin cancer as a result of their occupation should be entitled to compensation.
“When that happens, more effort will go into making these workers’ daily schedules as safe as possible by keeping their exposure to strong sunlight to the absolute minimum.”
But while the State has stopped short of introducing compensation for cancer victims, a lot has been done in recent years to reduce the risk.
The recently published legal notice purporting to introduce controls on building sites – although ostensibly aimed at reducing the nuisance factor for nearby residents – has also obliged developers to provide sun cream for construction workers.
Dr Mark Gauci of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, explains that this was the result of intensive discussions aimed at “killing two birds with one stone.”
At European level, too, the OHSA has been working towards a draft directive aimed at ensuring maximum protecton for sun-exposed workers.
Gauci however explains that the draft directive was watered down to limit liability.
“Unfortunately, it was decided to limit the directive to dealing only with damage caused by artificial sources - i.e., various types of workplace machinery – and to exclude the harmful effects of the sun.”
Nonetheless, the OHSA has issued guidelines for employers and employees whose job exposes them to the risk, not just of melanoma, but also of other dangers such as heat stress, dehydration, etc. Copies are available for free at www.ohsa.gov.mt
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