Age and Experience Don't Matter... Busan Office of Education Decides on Free Lung Cancer Health Screening for All School Meal Workers

Confirming Lung Cancer Status Through Proactive Screening, Establishing Health Protection Measures

An Industrial Safety and Health Committee meeting is being held at the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education is promoting free lung cancer health screenings for all school meal workers regardless of age or experience.

Considering the nationwide increase in the number of occupational lung cancer cases approved for meal workers, the Busan Office of Education is known to have prepared this proactive measure.

The screenings have been expanded to all meal workers this time to identify the actual condition of lung cancer in advance and to prepare health protection measures for workers.

Currently, the free lung cancer health screening targets of the Busan Office of Education are nutrition teachers, cooks, and kitchen assistants at public and private schools who have “more than 10 years of work experience” or are “55 years or older,” as guided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s official letter in December last year.

On the 29th at 3 p.m., the Busan Office of Education submitted a proposal to expand the lung cancer screening targets for meal workers at the 3rd quarter Industrial Safety and Health Committee meeting held in Conference Room 2 of the Education Office Annex.

On that day, the committee deliberated and approved the plan to expand the health screening targets for meal workers at public and private schools to all meal workers.

Accordingly, a total of 1,561 meal workers, including 1,284 from public schools and institutions and 277 from private schools, will be able to receive free low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) scans at 18 national lung cancer screening institutions in Busan starting as early as January next year.

Shin Yong-chae, Director of the Safety Planning Division at the City Office of Education, said, “Through this measure, we were able to closely grasp the actual condition of lung cancer and prepare corresponding health protection measures,” adding, “We will do our best to improve working conditions so that meal workers can work in a safer environment.”

The Busan Office of Education Industrial Safety and Health Committee is composed of eight worker representatives and eight employer representatives with the purpose of preventing industrial accidents in advance and promoting the health and safe working environment of on-site workers. This committee deliberates and approves major matters related to the safety and health of on-site workers affiliated with the Office of Education.