The first day of summer brings attention to working outside, sun exposure and the risk of skin cancer. Workers Compensation coverage offers a unique opportunity to provide affirmative action to prevent, detect and treat high risk workers before the disease takes a fatal course.
While working outside has the connotation of working in a clean air and healthy environment, the reality is quite the opposite. With a reduction of the world's ozone layer, workers exposed to the sun are at an increase risk of developing skin cancer at an even shorter exposure time.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just published recommendations for sunscreens. This initial first step will most likely expand the government's roll in getting skin cancer under control. In the meantime, exposed and diagnosed workers must rely upon the workers' compensation programs for treatment and benefits as a result of occupational induced skin cancer resulting from the occupational exposure to the the sun.
Workers' Compensation insurance companies and employers would do well to heed the government's recommendations and take affirmative action to protect employees and provide medical evaluations for medical monitoring and surveillance. That action may include: avoiding exposure to the sun, seek regulation medical monitoring and mandating the use of sunscreens in the workplace. The risk of sun exposure is well known and employers should be encourage to protect workers from such obvious and deadly common place exposures.
