WIREDGOV

Commenting on a study published yesterday (Tuesday) on the Occupational and Environmental Medicine website, which found that frequent night shifts are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'This study confirms previous research which has shown that shift work is now the second biggest cause of work-related cancer deaths after asbestos.

'We need urgent advice from the HSE and government so that employers can reduce the risk of female workers developing breast cancer, for example by indentifying safer shift patterns.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The study is available at http://press.psprings.co.uk/oem/may/oem100240.pdf

- TUC advice on dealing with cancer at work is available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/occupationalcancer.pdf

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk