Inequalities of exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic agents (CMR) in the workplace in France.

Summary Our study uses the 2010 edition of the Surveillance médicale des expositions aux risques professionnels (SUMER) survey to provide an overview of French employees' exposure to CMR agents in the workplace. In total, 2.2 million people, or 10.2% of employees, were exposed to one or more CMR products during the week preceding their medical examination. Among them, 70,000 had multiple exposures in the workplace, which brings the number of exposure situations recorded in 2010 to 3.5 million. Asbestos exposure situations represent only 2.3% of CMR product exposures, i.e. 10 times less than diesel exhaust exposures. Our results show that there are jobs and employee profiles that accumulate harms in the labor market, including high risks of exposure to products hazardous to health. These include blue-collar workers, night workers and employees with precarious contracts, who should therefore be priority targets for prevention measures.