cancer in the P&O facility

cancer in the P&O facility

Mike Calcagno Cpo

Hi List
In Feb. of 2003 I was diagnosed and treated for colorectal cancer
About April of this year I started to explore if the various chemicals,
materials, products & their byproducts that we use in O&P are carcinogenic
After spending hours on the Internet this is what I found
There is a branch of the World Health Organization, the IARC, which does
extensive research as to what agents are carcinogenic & then groups them as
follows;
group 1, is carcinogenic to humans
group 2a, is probably carcininogenic to humans
group 2b, is possibly carcininogenic to humans
group 3, is not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans
group 4, exposure is probably not carcinogenic to humans
these are the products that we use that in O&P that are in Group 1, 2a & 2b
GROUP 1
 Grinding Stainless Steel (the dust)
 Silica Crystaline that is in plaster of paris, alginate, adhesives, bandage
  (plaster of paris @1%)
 Leather Dust
 Wood Dust
 Benzene, this chemical is in adhesives
GROUP 2a
 Styrene, this is in most resins
 Man Made Fibers, (some)
GROUP 2b
 N-N- Dimethlanine, an accelerator
 Vinyl Acetate, foam
 Man Made Fibers, (some)
It is my goal to make you aware of the products we are exposed to & for you
to take the proper precautions, by just wearing gloves & the proper mask you
will reduce the exposure significantly
Also, I would like to create a on line support group for Orthotic and
Prosthetic
Personnel who have contracted cancer.
Please contact me if I missed something or if you would like to share
anything with me
Thanks
MIike Calcagno CPO