Compensation for Night Shift Cancer Victims
The BBC reports the the Danish government is to pay compensation to some women who developed breast cancer after long spells of shift work. The move comes after publication of research suggesting a possible link between the two in some cases.
Anyone who's had to do shift work knows that it's difficult and can cause all sorts of sleep problems. Recently the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), went further and classed night working as a "probable" cause of cancer. The hypothesis is that night working can suppress the production of melatonin and in doing so increases the risk of cancer.
Not all Danish shift workers who developed cancer will get compensation. Some with a family history of cancer have already had their claims rejected.
Anyone who's had to do shift work knows that it's difficult and can cause all sorts of sleep problems. Recently the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), went further and classed night working as a "probable" cause of cancer. The hypothesis is that night working can suppress the production of melatonin and in doing so increases the risk of cancer.
Not all Danish shift workers who developed cancer will get compensation. Some with a family history of cancer have already had their claims rejected.
Labels: Denmark, melatonin, shift working
