"Lung Cancer from Cooking Fumes"... Why Are Warnings from School Meal Workers Being Ignored?

Gwangju-Jeonnam Labor Safety and Health Watchdog Issues Statement on the 14th
"Cooking Fumes Must Be Included as a Health Management Card Hazard"

Despite the fact that kitchen workers in school cafeterias are being exposed to cooking fumes without any protection, there has been criticism that the government still does not recognize this as an occupational hazard. Cooking fumes are harmful gases and fine particles generated during high-temperature food preparation, and they contain numerous carcinogens, which have consistently raised concerns about health risks.

Cook workers frying food in a school cafeteria. Provided by the School Irregular Workers Union

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Labor Safety and Health Watchdog issued a statement on the 14th, saying, "The labor authorities must no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering of cafeteria workers exposed to cooking fumes," and urged, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor must immediately designate cooking fumes as an occupational hazard eligible for health management card issuance."

Cooking fumes contain substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehyde, and benzene, which are internationally recognized as carcinogens, and long-term inhalation can cause respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. In fact, according to the status of lung cancer industrial accident claims compiled by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service as of December 31 last year, 379 school cafeteria workers nationwide were suspected of having lung cancer, and 13 of them died. Only 169 cases were approved as industrial accidents. In Gwangju, there was also a case where a kitchen worker at the Kumho Tire in-house cafeteria filed for lung cancer as an industrial accident.

However, when the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced this year that it would expand the number of health management card eligible hazards from 15 to 19, cooking fumes were still not included. The group pointed out, "The Ministry still treats lung cancer caused by cooking fumes as individual cases," and added, "They are not even identifying the status of industrial accidents, let alone taking action against collective hazardous factors."

They further emphasized, "Not only should cooking fumes be explicitly designated as a hazardous factor and included in the health management card program, but a full-scale survey and epidemiological investigation into diseases such as lung cancer must also be conducted." They also added, "Improvement of working environments such as kitchen and ventilation facilities in cafeterias, as well as the revision of related industrial safety and health guidelines, is urgently needed."