Mortality from non-malignant diseases among male Norwegian asphalt workers

BACKGROUND: The possible associations between asphalt work and mortality from non-malignant diseases in a cohort of male Norwegian asphalt workers that formed part of the European asphalt worker mortality study are examined. METHODS: The mortality experience among 8,610 male workers ever employed in asphalt work was observed from 01.01.1970 until 12.31.1996, yielding 127,636 person years of observation. The cause-specific deaths observed in the study cohort were compared with the expected figures calculated from 5-year period- and age-specific national death rates. A study-specific job exposure matrix was used for individual-individual exposure estimates. RESULTS: Eight hundred and three workers died during the observation period (SMR = 0.92, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.58, 1.40). The mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases was elevated (SMR = 1.25, 95%CI = 0.97, 1.58) and was associated with years since first employment in the asphalt industry. Mortality from respiratory diseases was highest among the workers first employed in the 1960s. Among the different job types held by the workers the pavers and mastic asphalt workers had the highest mortality from respiratory diseases. A weak dose-response was found with cumulative exposure to PAH and bitumen fume and mortality from non-malignant respiratory diseases in analyses employing the job-exposure matrix. Overall mortality, the mortality from circulatory diseases (SMR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.83, 1.03) and external causes (SMR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.72, 1.11) was lower than expected. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality from respiratory diseases was found somewhat elevated among the asphalt workers. There was some evidence of exposure-response with both bitumen fume and PAH exposure. PAH from coal tar contributes to the PAH exposure.     

Mortality from lung cancer among workers employed in formaldehyde industries

A historical cohort of 26,561 workers employed in ten facilities was assembled to evaluate cancer risks associated with exposure to formaldehyde. Historical exposures to formaldehyde by job, work area, plant, and calendar time were estimated using monitoring data available from participating plants, comments from long-term workers and company officials, exposure evaluations from walk-through surveys conducted by project industrial hygienists, and results from monitoring specifically performed for this project. A previous report of findings from this study noted a 30% excess mortality from lung cancer among wage workers. The relative risk for lung cancer (whether estimated by SMRs or SRRs) 20 or more years after first exposure did not generally rise with increasing exposure to formaldehyde. Various estimates of exposure were investigated including duration, intensity, peak, cumulative, and average, and by exposures lagged by 5, 10, 20, and 30 years. The excess did not appear to arise gradually, but emerged suddenly among workers whose total cumulative exposure was less than 0.1 ppm-years. Slightly positive, but nonsignificant, exposure-response associations between lung cancer and level of formaldehyde occurred in only a few out of a large number of comparisons (e.g., for persons hired before the start dates for the study and for workers also exposed to particulates). There was a lack of consistency among the various plants for risk of lung cancer, with six plants having elevated SMRs and four plants having deficits. Mortality from lung cancer was more strongly associated with exposure to other substances including phenol, melamine, urea, and wood dust than with exposure to formaldehyde. Workers exposed to formaldehyde without exposure to these substances did not experience an elevated mortality from lung cancer. The risk did not increase with cumulative levels of formaldehyde among those exposed to other substances and there was a slightly negative trend for those exposed to formaldehyde alone. Although some role for formaldehyde, particularly in association with other substances, in the excess of lung cancer seen among these workers cannot be ruled out, these findings suggest that exposure to phenol, melamine, urea, wood dust or other exposures also occurring in the area where these substances were used (i.e., production of resin and molding compounds) may play a more primary role. This association should be further evaluated in other studies that include workers from resin and molding compound operations.     

化工工人接触一氧化碳与恶性肿瘤死亡关系的回顾性队列研究

用回顾性队列研究方法对接触CO的1708名工人在1971～1985年的死亡情况进行分析,用当地居民及不接触毒物的轧钢厂工人做对照。结果表明,工作现场历年CO浓度平均值超标比较严重。与对照比较,全癌亡、肝癌亡的SMR值差别高度显著;胃癌亡、肺癌亡的SMR值差别显著。全癌亡高峰比当地居民提前10岁。接触CO30年以后全癌亡人数增加明显。全癌亡随年代呈上升趋势。50年代以前参加工作的工人或25岁以前参加工作的工人全癌亡率较高。粗线条反映出接触CO与恶性肿瘤死亡的剂量反应关系。     

Epidemiologic evidence of cancer in aluminum reduction plant workers.

This paper reviews the epidemiologic evidence of cancer risks among workers in aluminum reduction plants with emphasis on associations with specific work areas and exposures. Studies of workers manufacturing carbon products outside the aluminum industry were also reviewed since the work environment is similar to that encountered in the carbon area of aluminum plants. We obtained 22 reports from references cited in earlier reviews, through compact disc literature search 1980-1990, and from the Nordic Aluminum Industry's Secretariat for Health, Environment and Safety. Six reports were excluded because the material was included in later studies or because a critical evaluation was impossible. This left 16 publications from 11 separate studies. Work in potrooms with S?derberg electrolytic cells was associated with increased risk of bladder cancer, and the increase was correlated to duration of tar exposure. There was a suggestion of increased risk of leukemias and pancreatic cancers in potroom workers, and of kidney and brain cancers without any clear association with specific exposures or work areas. Singular results showed associations between lung cancer risk and tar exposure in S?derberg plants, and between lung cancer and work in prebake or carbon plants, but interpretation was limited by inadequate data on smoking and asbestos exposure, and by problems connected with the choice of reference populations in these studies.     

Mortality and cancer incidence among PVC-processing workers in Sweden

The mortality pattern and the cancer incidence were investigated among 717 men who had been employed for at least 3 months during 1964–1974 in three Swedish PVC-processing plants. The mortality was followed 1964–1986 and the cancer incidence 1964–1984. Expected figures were calculated from Swedish national rates. Among Swedish citizens, the observed mortality and cancer incidence was close to the expected in most diagnoses. Among immigrants, mostly from Finland, there was a marked excess of circulatory deaths. This finding was probably due to the higher incidence of coronary mortality in Finland compared to Sweden. In the whole cohort, five cases of malignant melanoma had occurred as compared to 1.5 expected (SMR = 3.4, 95% confidence limit 1.1–7.9). This may be due to chance but merits further investigation since an increased incidence of malignant melanoma has previously been found among Norwegian PVC-manufacturing workers. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Lung and bladder cancer among workers in a Norwegian aluminium reduction plant

OBJECTIVE—To investigate the relation between exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the incidence of lung and bladder cancer among aluminium production workers.
METHODS—The cohort comprised 1790 men employed for more than 5 years at a Norwegian aluminium plant contributing 36 587 person-years to the study. Historical exposure to PAHs was estimated by the use of industrial hygiene measurements and by a panel of three people familiar with the industry. Cancer incidence was investigated from 1953 to 1995. The observed cases of cancer among men were compared with expected numbers calculated from national rates for men, and dose-response relations were investigated by internal comparison by Poisson regression with age, period, smoking, and cumulative exposure included in the models. The effect of lagging exposure by 10, 20, and 30 years was also investigated.
RESULT—The present study showed no increased risk of urinary bladder cancer or lung cancer with increasing cumulative exposure to PAHs. No significant changes in risk were found for different lag times.
CONCLUSIONS—Due to the small size of this study, a minor increase in risk could not be excluded.


Keywords: cancer incidence; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Søderberg     

Incidence of cancer among workers exposed to vinyl chloride in polyvinyl chloride manufacture

Based on results from two previous studies where an excess of melanomas was found in a cohort of workers exposed to vinyl chloride (VCM), a follow up of the incidence of cancer in the same cohort of 428 workers was carried out to scrutinise whether or not the excess could be confirmed by new cases. The total number of deaths in the study group from 1953 to the end of 1993 was 132 v 141 expected, and the total number of incident cancer cases was 56 v 57 expected. There were 11 cases of lung cancer v eight expected, seven cases of melanomas v 2.07 expected, and two cases of thyroid cancer v 0.34 expected. Five of the seven melanoma cases had occurred in the group that had been most heavily exposed to VCM v 0.7 expected. In the present follow up we also found five cases of the spinocellular cancer of the skin v 1.7 expected. Out of these five cases four were diagnosed after 1984. Two of the five cases v 0.7 expected had occurred in the most heavily exposed group. The total number of skin cancers (melanomas and spinocellular cancers) were 12 v 3.7 expected. There was one new case of melanoma between 1985 and 1993 v 0.7 expected. Hence, the strength of the relation between the observed and expected number of cases was reduced compared with the last follow up, and does not strengthen the previously indicated causal relation between exposure to VCM and development of malignant melanoma. There was no excess of testicular cancers in this study. The present results may indicate that occurrence of spinocellular skin cancer could bear some relation to work in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Confirmation is needed from studies on other cohorts exposed to VCM.


Keywords: cohort study; aetiology; exposure; melanomas; spinocellular cancers     

职业多环芳烃暴露人群尿中生物标志物浓度水平

多环芳烃类化学物质因为其被熟知的致癌性而一直备受关注, 近来越来越多的学者意识到单一的接触生物标志物并不能完全代表暴露者体内的暴露水平。本研究就1999年以后15年间报道的职业环境中接触多环芳烃类物质的工人尿中接触生物标志物进行综述, 重点对其浓度水平进行描述, 为职业环境中多环芳烃类化学物质暴露的生物学检测提供理论依据。     

Mortality among workers at a nuclear fuels production facility

A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted in a population of workers employed at a facility with the primary task of production of nuclear fuels and other materials. Data for hourly and salaried employees were analyzed separately by time period of first employment and length of employment. The hourly (N = 6,687 with 728 deaths) and salaried (N = 2,745 with 294 deaths) employees had a mortality experience comparable to that of the United States and, in fact, exhibited significant fewer deaths in many categories of diseases that are traditionally associated with the healthy worker effect. Specifically, fewer deaths were noted in the categories of all causes, all cancers, cancer of the digestive organs, lung cancer, brain cancer (hourly workers only), diabetes, all diseases of the circulatory system, all respiratory diseases, all digestive system diseases, all diseases of the genitourinary system (hourly only), and all external causes of death. A statistically significant, and as yet unexplained increase in leukemia mortality (6 observed vs. 2.18 expected) appeared among a subset of the hourly employees, first hired before 1955, and employed between 5-15 years.     

北京市大气颗粒物中多环芳烃及碳元素分析

目的了解大气颗粒物PM_2.5与PM₁₀中多环芳烃及有机碳、元素碳的污染特征。方法2006年6月16～18日和6月20～22日于北京市城区设置采样点,采集大气颗粒物PM_2.5与PM₁₀,并对其中的17种多环芳烃及有机碳、元素碳进行了分析。结果PM_2.5与PM₁₀中多环芳烃的平均质量浓度分别为0.011～2.846和0.013～4.415ng/m³;PM_2.5与PM₁₀中有机碳和元素碳的平均质量浓度分别为28.56,8.75μg/m³和41.14,15.43μg/m³。结论采样时间内,4环和5环多环芳烃是PM_2.5与PM₁₀中17种多环芳烃的主要成分;含碳组分在PM_2.5与PM₁₀中所占比例相当,碳仍然是2种粒子中的主要成分之一。     

Mortality among workers at the Savannah River Site

BACKGROUND: Workers employed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) were potentially exposed to a range of chemical and physical hazards, many of which are poorly characterized. We therefore compared the observed deaths among workers to expectations based upon death rates for referent populations. METHODS: The cohort included 18,883 SRS workers hired between 1950 and 1986. Vital status and cause of death information were ascertained through 2002. Sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were computed using U.S. and South Carolina mortality rates. SMRs were tabulated separately for monthly-, weekly-, and hourly-paid men. RESULTS: Males had fewer deaths from all causes [SMR=0.80, 90% confidence interval (CI): 0.78, 0.82], all cancers (SMR=0.85, 90% CI: 0.81, 0.89), and lung cancer (SMR=0.88, 90% CI: 0.82, 0.95) than expected based upon US mortality rates. The SMR for cancer of the pleura was 4.25 (90% CI: 1.99, 7.97) for men. The SMR for leukemia was greater than unity for monthly-paid (SMR=1.33, 90% CI: 0.88, 1.93) and hourly-paid (SMR=1.36, 90% CI: 1.02, 1.78) men. Female workers had fewer deaths from all causes (SMR=0.75, 90% CI: 0.69, 0.82) than expected, but more deaths than expected from cancer of the kidney (SMR=2.58, 90% CI: 1.21, 4.84) and skin (SMR=3.90, 90% CI: 2.11, 6.61). CONCLUSIONS: While the observed numbers of deaths in most categories of cause of death were less than expected, there are greater than expected numbers of deaths due to cancer of the pleura and leukemia, particularly among hourly-paid male workers. It is plausible that occupational hazards, including asbestos and ionizing radiation, contribute to these excesses.     

Testicular cancer among Swedish pulp and paper workers

BACKGROUND: The incidence of testicular cancer has increased in recent decades. The aims of the present study were to elucidate whether Swedish paper and pulp mill workers had an increased incidence of testicular cancer, and to investigate whether certain occupational groups within the pulp and paper mill workforce were at increased risk. METHODS: The study was based on the Swedish Cancer Environment Register, which links the incidence of cancer for the period 1971-1990 with 1960 and 1970 National Census data on specific industries and occupations for all employed subjects in Sweden. RESULTS: Among maintenance workers employed both in 1960 and in 1970 in paper mills there was an increased risk for testicular cancer (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 7.4, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.5-22), especially for seminomas (SIR 10.1, 95% CI 2.1-29). Maintenance workers were also at increased risk when analyzing workers employed in 1960, 1970, or both years. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates an increased risk for testicular cancer, especially seminomas, among maintenance workers, but not among process workers, in Swedish paper mills.     

A nested case-control study of bladder cancer incidence in a steel manufacturing plant

Background A surveillance study of bladder cancer incidence in northwestern Illinois detected a number of cases who had worked in a large steel manufacturing plant. To investigate these cancers further, a nested case-control study of bladder cancer was conducted at this plant. Methods Cases from the surveillance study were matched to company personnel files. Four controls per case were selected from company files and frequency matched on age (cases and controls were all white males). Employment histories were abstracted from company records and odds ratios calculated according to job titles and departments worked. Cases and controls who held only white collar jobs were excluded from the analysis. Results Results for 16 cases and 75 controls showed elevated odds ratios for heaters (OR = 21.1, 95%cCI = 2.2–205.8) based on three cases. Heaters monitored electric reheat furnaces and may have been exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Previous studies have shown moderate risks for bladder cancer among furnace operators, but most of these studies were also based on a small number of cases. Conclusions Additional studies of furnace operators' exposures and cancer risks are needed to investigate these results further. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34:393–398, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Mortality and cancer morbidity in workers from an aluminium smelter with prebaked carbon anodes--Part III: Mortality from circulatory and respiratory diseases.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate associations between exposure to pot emissions (fluorides, sulphur dioxide) and mortality from chronic obstructive lung disease, coal tar pitch volatiles and mortality from diseases related to atherosclerosis, and carbon monoxide and mortality from ischaemic heart disease. METHODS--Mortality between 1962 to 1991 was investigated in a cohort of 1085 men hired by a Norwegian aluminium smelter between 1922 and 1975. Associations between cumulative exposure and mortality were investigated through SMR analysis based on national mortality rates; temporal relations were explored by considering exposures only within specific time windows. Circulatory mortality was also investigated by Poisson regression analysis. RESULTS--There were 501 deaths v 471.3 expected in the cohort. The excess was confined to short term workers and did not seem to be associated with exposures in the smelter. Analysis of mortality among the 661 men with at least three years employment showed associations between cumulative exposure to tar 40 years before observation and atherosclerotic mortality (P = 0.03), and between exposure to pot emissions 20-39 years before observation and mortality from chronic obstructive lung disease (P = 0.06). No association was found between exposure to carbon monoxide and mortality from ischaemic heart disease, but cerebrovascular mortality was associated with exposure to pot emissions (P = 0.02). Results for atherosclerotic and cerebrovascular diseases were confirmed through Poisson regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS--The data support previous findings of increased mortality from ischaemic heart disease in workers exposed to tar, and some support is also provided for earlier reports of increased respiratory mortality in potroom workers.     

Mortality from lung cancer and respiratory disease among pottery workers exposed to silica and talc

A cohort mortality study of white men employed for at least one year between 1939 and 1966 at three plants of a single United States company was conducted to evaluate the risk of lung cancer and nonmalignant respiratory disease among workers exposed to silica dust and nonfibrous (nonasbestiform) talc in the manufacture of ceramic plumbing fixtures. Follow-up of 2,055 men through January 1, 1981, indicated a substantial excess of nonmalignant respiratory disease among those with high levels of exposure to silica dust (standardized mortality ratio = 2.26). The risk of nonmalignant respiratory disease rose with the number of years exposed, was not further enhanced by talc exposure, and appeared to be appreciably lower among those exposed in more recent time periods. For lung cancer, men exposed to high levels of silica dust with no talc exposure had a nonsignificant standardized mortality ratio of 1.37. However, those exposed to nonfibrous talc in addition to high levels of silica had a significant 2.5-fold excess risk of lung cancer. Among this group, the lung cancer standardized mortality ratio rose with increasing years of talc exposure to 3.64 among those exposed for 15 or more years. Although the role of silica as a cofactor cannot be ruled out, these data suggest that nonfibrous talc exposure is associated with excess lung cancer risk.     

人外周血基因组DNA端粒长度与肺癌关系

目的 观察外周血基因组DNA端粒长度与肺癌危险性的关系.方法 用荧光定量PCR法检测145例肺癌患者、145名正常对照和145名焦炉工人外周血基因组DNA相对端粒长度.结果 肺癌组端粒长度明显短于对照组(P=0.028),职业暴露组端粒长度明显短于肺癌组(P=0.005)和对照组(P<0.001);按对照组端粒长度分4组,随着端粒的缩短,肺癌的危险性增加(Ptrend<0.001);按对照组端粒长度中位数把样本分为2组发现,与长端粒组比较,端粒变短明显增加肺癌的危险性(调整OR=2.337,95%CI为1.413～3.866);对照组中,随着年龄增加,端粒缩短(P<0.001).结论 端粒缩短可增加肺癌的危险性,可能是肺癌发展早期过程中的一项重要的生物标志.     

Mortality from brain cancer and leukaemia among electrical workers

The relation of brain cancer and mortality from leukaemia to electrical occupations was investigated in a case-control study based on all deaths in 1985 and 1986 in the 16 states in the United States that report occupational data from death certificates to the national vital statistics registry. The case series comprised all 2173 men who died of primary brain cancer (International Classification of Diseases-9 ((ICD-9) code 191) and all 3400 who died of leukaemia (ICD-9 codes 204-208). Each was matched with 10 controls who died of other causes in the same year. Men employed in any electrical occupation had age race adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.7) for brain cancer and 1.0 (95% CI 0.8-1.2) for leukaemia, compared with men in all other occupations. Brain cancer odds ratios were larger for electrical engineers and technicians (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.1-3.4), telephone workers (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.4), electric power workers (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.7), and electrical workers in manufacturing industries (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.4). There was some evidence of excess leukaemia among the same groups (ORs of 1.1-1.5) despite absence of an association for all electrical workers. The excess of deaths from brain cancer was concentrated among men aged 65 or older, whereas leukaemia was associated with electrical work only among younger decedents and those with acute lymphocytic leukaemia. These results from a large and geographically diverse population corroborate reports of increased mortality from brain cancer among electrical workers, but gives only limited support to suggestions of excess deaths from leukaemia.