According to joint estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) published this Wednesday, almost one in three deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer is due to work in the sun.

The study details that 1.6 billion people of working age (15 years or older) were exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation while working outdoors in 2019, equivalent to 28 percent of all individuals of working age.

In that year alone, almost 19,000 people from 183 countries died of non-melanoma skin cancer from working in the sun, and 65 percent of them were men.

Unprotected exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation at work is a leading cause of occupational skin cancer, but there are effective solutions to protect workers from the sun’s harmful rays and prevent its lethal effects, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom. Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.

In this context, Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director General of the ILO, stated that it is urgent that governments, employers and workers and their representatives work together within a framework of well-defined rights, responsibilities and duties to reduce the occupational risk of exposure to ultraviolet rays, which can save thousands of lives each year.

The research emphasizes that, since skin cancer develops after years or even decades of exposure, workers must be protected from ultraviolet solar radiation from an early age.

It adds that governments should establish policies and regulations that protect outdoor workers from sun-induced skin cancer by providing shade, changing work hours so that they do not coincide with the central hours of the day, and equipping workers with sunscreen and personal protective clothing (such as a wide-brimmed hat, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants).

According to experts, protective measures should be applied when the ultraviolet index, a scale that rates the amount of ultraviolet radiation that damages the skin, is equal to three or higher.

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