Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. 2025-0092-3428: Evaluation of Cancer Concerns among Employees at an Elementary School

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Zacks, Rachael ; Feldmann, Karl D.
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) request from management at an elementary school to evaluate concerns about the number of cancer cases diagnosed among school employees. During our evaluation we (1) met with management, employee representatives, union representatives, and state public health representatives regarding the concerns, (2) reviewed a list of deidentified, self-reported cancer diagnoses provided by management, (3) reviewed reports of previous evaluations and environmental sampling conducted from 2015-2025, and (4) reviewed documents describing pest control, groundskeeping, and custodial chemical use and reviewed associated safety data sheets (SDS). Our evaluation found no evidence of a workplace carcinogenic at levels known to cause cancer and no evidence of an unusual pattern of cancer cases among school employees. We did not identify evidence of an excess number of cancer cases among employees, an unusual distribution of cancer types reported by employees, or potential employee exposures to hazardous levels of cancer-causing substances in the workplace. Although we do not think further case finding or investigation would lead to the identification of an unusual pattern of cancer among employees at this time, we acknowledge that concerns about the occurrence of cancer among school employees can have an important effect on employee health. Therefore, we provide recommendations to assist management in continuing to evaluate concerns and ensure the workplace is safe and healthy for all employees.
• Subjects:
  Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation, Nonionizing Risk Factors Safety Schools
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Elementary And Secondary Schools; Cancer; Cancer Cluster; Non-Ionizing Radiation Region 7; Education; Employee Health; Cancer Clusters; Cancer; Risk Factors; Breast Cancer; Occupational Health And Safety;
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2025-0092-3428, 2026 Feb; :1-26
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  10.26616/NIOSHHHE202500923428
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; Ohio ; Kansas City Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  26 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071186
• Editor(s):
  Blank, Anne
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  611110 - Elementary and Secondary Schools - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6fd908e8e185717fd0eee0d71fa2c1b735b2af3fe8aa6c1fb54ad82e361cc347bcb5c2cfcf19bf877d12eabba26ba9eca38ce93fcd011128834fdfe642aa471b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258666/cdc_258666_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 428.52 KB ]