Identification and Priority Setting for Occupational Carcinogens (OCs) in Industries in Thailand

Abstract

Several chemicals, including occupational carcinogens (OCs), have been used in Thailand. Apart from asbestos and silica, other OCs need to be identified for further monitoring and management. The study aimed to identify and conduct priority setting of these carcinogens in Thailand. The methods of the study were applied from Hanlon’s method for priority setting. The first step was to identify OCs from the lists of the National Hazardous Substance Registry by using the criteria as follows: 1) being classified as OCs by Loomis et al., and 2) having high amount of import/export in the country during 2018–2020. After that, the identified agents were ranked according to three criteria: 1) size of the problem, 2) severity of the problem, and 3) feasibility of interventions. The results found that 18 occupational carcinogens were identified and 12 of them were still allowed to be used in the country. According to available information, seven agents were matched for priority setting, and the top three scored OCs included 1) arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds, 2) trichloroethylene, and 3) formaldehyde. Further action plan includes health risk assessment, setting up of health surveillance, and implementation of preventive and control measures in the target workplaces.