Cancer incidence and mortality in a New Zealand community potentially exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin from 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid manufacture.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate whether the rates of all cancers and four cancers (soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia) associated with dioxin exposure are higher in New Plymouth, the site of a former 2,4,5-T manufacturing plant, than for the rest of New Zealand.

METHODS:

Analysis of 1970-2001 cancer data from the New Zealand Cancer Registry was undertaken for New Plymouth and the rest of New Zealand.

RESULTS:

There is no evidence of an increased cancer risk apart from one period (1970-74), which falls partly outside the 1962-1987 manufacturing period if 10-year latency is assumed. For 1970-74, there was an elevated risk for all cancer incidence (SIR = 111, 95% CI 104-119), and for two of the four specific cancers that are associated with dioxin exposure (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma SIR = 175, 95% CI 121-246 and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia SIR = 251, 95% CI 144-408).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:

The results do not suggest an increased cancer risk among the New Plymouth population related to the period of 2,4,5-T manufacture, although the study's limitations mean the possibility of an undetectable small elevation in cancer risk cannot be excluded. Although TCDD exposure in the first few years of 2,4,5-T manufacture may have contributed to cancer incidence in 1970-74, unknown exposure(s) before the start of 2,4,5-T manufacture and chance are also possible explanations.

• Authors: Deborah Read, Craig Wright, Philip Weinstein, Barry Borman
• Journal: Australian and New Zealand journal of public health (Aust N Z J Public Health) Vol. 31 Issue 1 Pg. 13-8 (Feb 2007) ISSN: 1326-0200 [Print] Australia
• PMID: 17333602 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Carcinogens, Environmental
• Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins
• 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid

Topics

• 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (chemical synthesis)
• Carcinogens, Environmental (toxicity)
• Chemical Industry
• Environmental Exposure
• Humans
• Incidence
• Neoplasms (chemically induced, epidemiology, mortality)
• New Zealand (epidemiology)
• Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins (toxicity)
• Registries (statistics & numerical data)
• Residence Characteristics (statistics & numerical data)
• Risk Assessment
• Time