Introduction:

This article reports the results obtained in the evaluation and classification of substances and chemical products classified as carcinogenic according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the laboratories of chemistry and construction of the Metropolitan Technological Institute-ITM.

Objective:

To analyze occupational health and safety practices in the handling of chemical substances and products classified as carcinogenic in the chemistry and construction laboratories of the Metropolitan Technological Institute-ITM.

Materials and methods:

To carry out the investigation, the inventory of reagents of the laboratories of the institution was reviewed, where IARC was used to classify the chemical substances and products cataloged as carcinogens. To determine the type of cancer produced by each substance, the Table of Occupational Diseases was used, regulated in Colombia by Decree No. 1447 of August 5, 2014, issued by the Ministry of Labor.

Results:

Among the main results, a total of 21 chemical substances cataloged as carcinogenic were found, 19 in the chemistry laboratory and 2 in the construction laboratory of the Robledo headquarters, determining at the same time the type of cancer that these substances could develop.

Conclusions:

Based on the table of occupational diseases in Colombia, it was possible to determine that the substances analyzed are effectively carcinogenic, and most of the substances determined as carcinogenic cause malignant neoplasm of bronchi and lung, in other words, bronchial cancer and lung cancer respectively.