NPR – Tens of millions of Americans experienced at least a day last year shrouded in wildfire smoke. Entire cities were blanketed, in some cases for weeks, as unprecedented wildfires tore across the Western U.S., causing increases in hospitalizations for respiratory emergencies and concerns about people’s longer-term health. A new study finds those concerns are well founded. Researchers say that the tiny particles released in wildfire smoke are up to 10 times more harmful to humans than particles released from other sources, such as car exhaust.

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BMC Women’s Health – This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to update the current evidence regarding the relationship between night-shift work duration and breast cancer risk. Based on the overall evaluation of 26 eligible articles, in the short-term night-shift workers, the risk of breast cancer was increased (RR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03–1.24), but the increase did not observe in the long-term night-shift workers (RR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.99–1.17). The researchers suggest further studies with adequate information and exact definition regarding night shift work and its duration.

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Annals of Work Exposures and Health​ – The widespread application of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, commonly known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, have raised concerns regarding the possible health implications. This review evaluates available data concerning exposure assessment in workplaces and possible effects of 3D printing emissions on humans. The literature demonstrated that a significant fraction of the particles released during 3D printing could be in the ultrafine size range, and increased levels of metals and volatile organic compounds could be detected during AM operations.

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Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice – A cross-sectional antineoplastic monitoring program is conducted once a year with voluntary Canadian hospital centers, since 2010. Twelve standardized sampling sites were sampled in 109 hospital centers between January 31 and June 18, 2020. Cyclophosphamide and gemcitabine were the drugs most frequently quantified on the surfaces. The armrest of patient treatment chairs, the front grille inside the biological safety cabinet (BSC) and the floor in front of the BSC were frequently contaminated. This large-scale study showed reproducible long term follow up of the contamination of standardized sites of Canadian centers and a reduction in surface contamination from 2010 to 2020.

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Molecular Oncology – In this study, researchers illustrate how common occupational exposures are and discuss challenges in estimating their global prevalence and their contribution to the burden of occupational cancer. The population attributable fraction for lung cancer due to occupational exposure has been estimated to be between 18 and 25% in men and 2–6% in women, resulting in lung cancer being the most prevalent occupational cancer. Actions to reduce exposures and research to fill gaps in knowledge adapted to local settings are warranted to mitigate the occupational cancer burden, especially in under-researched settings including low and middle income countries.

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