Key points
- While there is no single root cause of cancer, there are a wide range of exposures that may contribute to a worker’s risk of cancer, including workplace exposures.
- An estimated 2-8% of all cancers worldwide are caused by exposures to carcinogens (substances known to cause cancer) in the workplace.
- Cancers that occur due to workplace exposures can be prevented.
Overview
There are a wide range of exposures that may contribute to a person’s risk of cancer. This includes but is not limited to:
- Modifiable behaviors, such as tobacco use
- Environmental exposures, such as ultraviolet light
- Infectious agents, such as viruses
- Inherited genetic mutations
- Workplace exposures
Some specific occupations that have been linked to increased cancer risk include:
- Firefighting
- Rubber manufacturing
- Paving
- Roofing
- Painting
- Chimney sweeping
Spotlight
Firefighting Exposures and Cancer
In 2022, an International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group of experts assembled to re-evaluate occupational exposure as a firefighter as a carcinogen. This webinar gives an overview of the groups decision and evidence to classify firefighting as a human carcinogen (Group I).
Learn more
Selected reports
- Current Intelligence Bulletin 65: Occupational Exposure to Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers
- Evaluation of Indoor Environmental Quality Concerns in an Elementary School
- Mortality and cancer incidence in a pooled cohort of US firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia (1950–2009)
- NIOSHTIC-2 search results related to occupational cancer below. NIOSHTIC-2 is a database of occupational safety and health publications funded in whole or in part by NIOSH.
Resources
Occupational
- NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
- OSHA Safety and Health Topics on Carcinogens
- NORA Cancer, Reproductive, Cardiovascular, and Other Chronic Disease Prevention Cross-Sector Council
Occupational surveillance
- National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer
- National Occupational Mortality Surveillance (NOMS)
- NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System (NIOCCS)
- Collecting and Using Industry and Occupation Data
- A Cancer Registrar’s Guide to Collecting Industry and Occupation
General
Content Source
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
About This Page
Published: August 13, 2024
Updated: October 28, 2026
This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.
Reviewed: August 1, 2024
The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.