The head of Occupational Health of CCOO Aragón, Luis Clarimón, has denounced that in 2025 only 119 cases of occupational cancer were recognized, despite estimates indicating that between 5 and 10 percent of all tumors are work-related, which would raise the real figure to about 16,000 affected people.
Clarimón made these statements to the media during a conference on occupational cancer organized this Tuesday by CCOO, in collaboration with the Department of Labor Law of the University of Zaragoza (Unizar) and with funding from the Government of Aragón, where a book focused on this issue was also presented.
"Occupational cancer is a very relevant issue that often goes unnoticed," the union representative stressed, which in his opinion means that "the majority of occupational cancers are not being recognized, go unnoticed, and therefore are neither prevented nor adequately treated by those responsible."
He indicated that there are "thousands of workers exposed to carcinogens in their workplaces in different sectors," and highlighted the increase in exposure to silica due to its use in the manufacture and installation of kitchen and bathroom countertops: "That dust is cut, drilled, inhaled, and leads to serious lung problems, including cancer."
He also mentioned tumors linked to asbestos, acrylonitrile, or formaldehyde, widely used in the healthcare sector in pathological anatomy samples, as well as diesel fumes in factories, warehouses, or outdoor work, various heavy metals with carcinogenic substances such as chromium or cadmium, dust in the wood industry, and continuous exposure to solar radiation.
In relation to diesel, he emphasized "how easy it would be to replace all those forklifts -- in industries -- with electric forklifts," although he admitted that in other cases the alternatives are "more complicated," as with silica, present in the raw material itself. In these situations, he defended the need to reinforce isolation and reduce exposure "to the technically possible minimum."
MORE AWARENESS, CONTROL, AND DATA
Faced with this scenario, it has called for companies to "become aware" of the problem and adopt effective measures to prevent exposure to carcinogenic agents, and has urged administrations to intensify monitoring of regulatory compliance and to allocate more human and economic resources to implement the National Agenda for the Prevention of Occupational Cancer.
It has lamented that "the data we have on cancer are very scarce" to promote rigorous research, even though some dangerous substances, such as formaldehyde, diesel smoke, or acrylonitrile, have recently been added to the official lists. The underlying problem, it has indicated, is that these pathologies, like other occupational diseases, "are not reported" and are processed "as common illnesses," treated by the public health system instead of by mutual insurance companies, unlike what happens in countries like Germany or France.
The Professor of Labor Law at Unizar and co-author of the book "Cancer and Work," presented within the framework of the conference, Miguel Olmos, has detailed that Spain applies a different method for counting occupational cancers, but has assured that "the differences are overwhelming" and show that "it is not working." "In men there is overwhelming underreporting, but in women it is already terrible," he has warned.
Olmos has attributed this situation to the fact that the country has not sufficiently developed the regulations that specify the Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks, despite being similar to those of other European states. All this, he recalled, when the International Labour Organization (ILO) recognizes around 134 substances present in the workplace capable of producing tumors and estimates that "approximately 25% of workers are exposed to some carcinogen during their working lives."
DISPENSE WITH SUBSTANCES SUCH AS SILICA
The academic has pointed out as the main obstacle that "there are many carcinogenic substances that we are not willing to give up, and as a society we need to look into that."
He cited quartz agglomerates used in kitchens as an example, which "seem fantastic to us," but whose manufacturing and installation, in products "from brands we all know," carry a risk of exposure to crystalline silica. This carcinogen is behind the resurgence of silicosis, a disease that had practically disappeared as it was traditionally associated with coal mining.
"Can we do without them? I think so. Our kitchens, a few years ago, didn't have them and nothing happened," he argued, concluding that "some carcinogens we can afford to reduce."
WORKERS BURNT OUT OR BREAST CANCER AND NIGHT WORK
The other author of the book, Sonia Pedrosa, a professor of Labor Law and Social Security at Unizar, added that studies are beginning to appear linking burnout syndrome or "burnt-out worker" with the development of cancer.
Pedrosa indicated that it is essential to prove the occupational origin of the disease, something that "is sometimes complicated," and recalled that numerous types of tumors are not included in the royal decree on occupational diseases, which makes their recognition difficult.
She specified that, for example, cases of lung cancer due to asbestos exposure are contemplated, while the same is not true for the possible link between breast cancer and night work or ovarian cancer, areas where research remains "in its infancy."
"This is slow because scientific studies are needed, real confirmation of their occupational origin, because scientific studies are needed," she concluded.