TABLE OF SUBSTANCES PRESENTING A CARCINOGENIC RISK

EXPOSURE TARGET ORGAN INDUSTRY/USE
METALS AND THEIR COMPOUNDS
Arsenic and compounds Lung, skin Pesticides, metals
Beryllium and compounds Lung Metals, aerospace
Cadmium and compounds Lung, prostate Dye/pigment manufacture
Chromium(VI) and compounds Nasal cavity, lung Metal plating, dye, pigment
Nickel and compounds Nasal cavity, lung Metallurgy, alloys, catalysts
 
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
Coal tar pitches Skin, bladder, lungs Building materials, electrodes
Coal tar Skin, lung Fuels
Mineral oils Skin Lubricants
Shale oils Skin Lubricants
Soot Skin, lungs Pigments
 
MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICALS
4-aminobiphenyl Bladder Rubber manufacture
Beta-naphthylamine Bladder Rubber, dye, pigment maufacture
Benzidine Bladder Dye, pigment manufacture, laboratory reagent
Benzene Leukaemia Solvent, fuels
Ethylene oxide Leukaemia Sterilant
Bischloromethyl ether and chloromethyl methyl ether Lung Chemical intermediate
Mustard gas Lung, pharynx War gas
Vinyl chloride Liver, lung, blood vessels Plastics monomer
 
MINERAL AND WOOD DUST
Asbestos Lung, pleura, peritoneum Insulation, filters, textiles
Talc containing asbestiform fibre Lungs Paper, paints
Wood dust Nasal cavity Wood industry
Free Silica or Quartz Lung Mining, construction, quarrying
 
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
Aluminium production Lungs, bladder  
Boot, shoe manufacture and repair Nasal cavity, leukaemia  
Coal gassification Skin,bladder, lung  
Coke production Skin, lung, kidney  
Furniture and cabinet making Nasal cavity  
Iron and steel foundry Lung  
Isopropanol manufacture Nasal cavity  
Painter Lung  
Rubber industry Bladder, leukaemia  
Inorganic acid mists containing sulphuric acid Lung, larynx  
 
ENVIRONMENTAL AGENTS
Aflatoxins Liver  
Chronic HBV infection Liver  
Chronic HBC infection Liver  
Radon and decay products Lung  
Schistosoma haematobium Bladder  
Solar radiation Skin  
Tobacco smoke Lung, bladder, URT, upper GIT  



Creative Commons License
Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) - Modules 3: Occupational Medicine & Toxicology (Basic) by Profs Mohamed Jeebhay and Rodney Ehrlich, Health Sciences UCT is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License. Major contributors: Mohamed Jeebhay, Rodney Ehrlich, Jonny Myers, Leslie London, Sophie Kisting, Rajen Naidoo, Saloshni Naidoo. Source available from here. For any updates to the material, or more permissions beyond the scope of this license, please email healthoer@uct.ac.za or visit www.healthedu.uct.ac.za. Last updated Jan 2007.
Disclaimer note: Some resources and descriptions may be out-dated. For suggested updates and feedback, please contact healthoer@uct.ac.za.