OSWEGO, NY – It’s a beautiful summer day and you are ready to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. If you are headed out for a day of fun at the beach, boating on the lake or maybe a picnic with friends, you put on some sunscreen to protect yourself against sunburn. If you are on your way to work and will be in the sun all day, applying sunscreen may not be on your mind, but it should be.
People whose job requires them to work outside are exposed to hours of sunshine every day. Over exposure to the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet rays can cause not only sunburn, but also lasting skin damage that could lead to skin cancer, like melanoma.
According to the NYS Department of Health, every year, about 4,000 New Yorkers are diagnosed with melanoma and nearly 500 die from melanoma. In Oswego County an average of 26 people are diagnosed with melanoma each year.
Oswego County Opportunities (OCO) Cancer Prevention in Action program is working to increase cancer prevention and educating the community on the importance of sun safety. Recently Program Coordinator Carolyn Handville met with Steve Piazza, owner of Piazza Landscaping, to discuss the skin cancer risks for people who spend the majority of their workday outside. Together they developed a sun safety policy to protect Piazza Landscaping staff from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun while on the job.
“Landscaping is a demanding job that requires working outside all day, every day,” explained Handville. “In that line of work there is no way to avoid the sun. Even on overcast days it’s possible to get sunburned. Taking proper precautions whenever you’re exposed to the sun is essential to practicing sun safety.”
Piazza Landscaping’s sun safety policy was created with the health and safety of its workforce first and foremost to protect them from the adverse effects associated with prolonged exposure to outdoor ultraviolet radiation.
As a result of the new sun safety policy, all current and future employees of Piazza Landscaping working outdoors will have access to protective/UPF clothing.
“I appreciate the fact that Carolyn reached out to me,” said Piazza. “The information she provided me with regarding sun safety was a real eye opener. I will be educating my employees about the importance of our new sun safety policy and evaluating its effectiveness to ensure the safety of our workforce.”
OCO’s Cancer Prevention in Action program focuses on policies that serve as catalysts for environmental changesand educating community members on what they can do to prevent cancer. “Sun safety is paramount in preventing skin cancer and melanoma. I encourage any business whose employees spend a significant amount of time working outdoors to consider following Piazza Landscaping’s lead and implement its own sun safety policy,” said Handville
For information on the importance of sun safety or establishing sun safety policy contact the Cancer Prevention in Action Program at 315-592-0830. To contact Piazza’s Landscaping for all your landscaping needs, contact Steve Piazza at 315-632-1119.
Oswego County Opportunities is a subcontractor of the St. Lawrence Health Initiative to deliver the Cancer Prevention in Action grant locally in Oswego County. To learn more about the Cancer Prevention in Action Program, which is supported with funds from the state of New York, please visit takeactionagainstcancer.com.
missing or outdated ad config
