Exposure to oil and diesel and risk of skin cancer among Norwegian offshore oil industry workers

Prosjektet bygger på data som er bearbeidet og kvalitetssikret i et tidligere prosjekt finansiert av Forskningsrådet. Resultater fra dette prosjektet viser kreftforekomst blant ansatte i offshore oljeaktivitet for perioden 1999-2009, og er presentert på utenlandske konferanser i 2013 (Basel, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology), og publisert i et vitenskapelig tidsskrift (Stenehjem JS et al. Cancer incidence among 41 000 offshore oil industry workers. Occup Med (Lond) 2014. [Epub ahead of print]). Resultatene har også vært presentert for oljeindustrien i Norge, relevante arbeidstakerorganisasjoner og tilsynsmyndighetene.

The present project is a study of the relationship between dermal exposure to oil and diesel and skin cancer (melanoma and non-melanoma) in male offshore oil industry workers. The study will be conducted according to a case-cohort study-design and will ex plore the dose-related risks of skin cancers in different occupational groups of Norwegian offshore workers. Due to individual information on onshore work, ultra violet exposure, and on leisure time skin contact with oil and diesel, we will adjust the ris k of skin cancer from offshore work for potential confounding effects from exposure obtained elsewhere. Ten years of follow-up for cancer will most likely provide the study with sufficient statistical power, to determine whether the association between de rmal oil-exposure and skin cancers in Norwegian upstream offshore oil industry workers is statistically significant. To assure adequate competence on exposure assessment, the Cancer Registry study-group will be assisted by Professor in occupational hygi ene, Magne Bråtveit who is leading the Research Group for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at University of Bergen. There has been a growing concern about health effects from work in the offshore industry. Research directed at work conditions and potential health effects is of public utility and interest, especially as the petroleum sector is such an important employer in Norway. The proposed project will contribute to the knowledge on the relationship between chemical exposure and cancer risk. In turn, this can lead to improved monitoring of work conditions and better hazard control. The study will be published in an appropriate peer-reviewed scientific journal.