The Center to Protect Workers' Rights Researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Health are studying evidence of asphalt exposures in construction workers and ways to control such exposures.
Scientific studies say asphalt workers have a high risk of some cancers, such as lung cancer.
And some hydrocarbons in asphalt cause cancers in animals. But no study has tied asphalt exposures to worker cancers. A biomarker for a chemical shows that it's in the body and, so, the person may be at increased risk of disease. At CPWR, Susi works on ways to measure worker exposures to toxic substances. The researchers are taking measurements in the field, said Herrick, the lead investigator.