Art Gallery Cancer Scare

The National Gallery of Australia was monitoring sick leave when it found something worrying. Five of its security guards had been diagnosed with cancer between 1997 and 2002, three of them since February 2001. "There could be something in the work environment which is contributing to it," said the gallery's human resources manager in an email to her boss on February 21, 2002. She had learned earlier that day about the latest case - bowel cancer. Three days later there was more bad news. Nine more guards had been diagnosed with cancer over an unspecified period. As management learned of the cancers, an investigation was already under way into the health and safety of the building, prompted by long-running allegations by staff and former staff that it was damaging their health and the priceless collection. In a critical 2003 report, an investigator found staff had been exposed to a potentially deadly chemical. He did not know about the cancer alert or the gallery's actions that followed. Now he wants to know why. For the full story - click the title Irish Art