Mortality among employees of an Ontario asbestos-cement factory.

Abstract

Mortality among 535 asbestos-exposed and 205 nonexposed employees of an asbestos-cement factory was investigated. In the period beyond 20 yr from first exposure, the exposed workers had standardized mortality ratios of 175 for all causes of death, 370 for all malignancies, 480 for lung cancer, 240 for gastrointestinal cancers, and 17 deaths from mesothelioma; the factory control subjects had mortality rates similar to the general population. The cell-type distribution of the lung cancers was similar to that occurring in middle-aged smokers. Cumulative fiber exposures were calculated for the production workers, and mortality rates for the asbestos-associated malignancies were found to have significant trends with exposure. Exposure-related lung cancer risks were noted, with a large margin of uncertainty, to be similar to those observed in an American study of manmade mineral fiber workers.

• Authors: M M Finkelstein
• Journal: The American review of respiratory disease (Am Rev Respir Dis) Vol. 129 Issue 5 Pg. 754-61 (May 1984) ISSN: 0003-0805 [Print] United States
• PMID: 6326627 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Asbestos

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (etiology, mortality)
• Adult
• Aged
• Asbestos (adverse effects)
• Carcinoma, Small Cell (etiology, mortality)
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell (etiology, mortality)
• Construction Materials (adverse effects)
• Epidemiologic Methods
• Gastrointestinal Neoplasms (etiology, mortality)
• Humans
• Lung Neoplasms (etiology, mortality)
• Male
• Mesothelioma (etiology, mortality)
• Middle Aged
• Occupational Diseases (etiology, mortality)
• Ontario
• Risk
• Time Factors