Further follow up of mortality in a United Kingdom oil refinery cohort (original) (raw)

Mortality study of cancer risk among oil refinery workers

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1989

The mortality experience of 1595 male workers employed in one of the largest Italian refineries in the period from 1949-1982 was examined From the comparison with national and local death rates, increases in mortality owing to lung and kidney cancers, brain tumors, and leukemias emerged No definite trends according to duration of exposure and years since first exposure were apparent The increases regarding cancer of the lung, kidney and brain appeared to be associated with the early period of operations Analysis by exposure category suggested an association of the increased mortality from leukemias with working in production (observed = 2 ; expected = 0 61) Kidney cancer mortality was elevated among maintenance workers (obs = 2 ; exp = 0 18) Small numbers prevented firmer conclusions Workers in the moving department had a significantly increased mortality from all cancers (obs = 22 ; exp = 11 7), and lung cancer (obs = 11 ; exp = 3 6) Confounding by smoking could be excluded as sufficient explanation of the three-fold increase in lung cancer deaths. It was in moving that highest airborne levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons had been discovered in an independent environmental investigation.

An epidemiological survey of eight oil refineries in Britain

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 1981

A mortality study of workers employed for at least one year between 1 January 1950 and 31 December 1975 at eight oil refineries in Britain has been carried out. Over 99% of the population were successfully traced to determine theirvital status at 31 December 1975. The mortalityobservedin the study population was compared with that which would be expected from the mortality rates for the all male population of England and Wales, and Scotland, with adjustment for regional variation in mortality for the English and Welsh refineries. The overall mortality observed was considerably lower than that expected on this basis, as was the mortality from heart disease, stroke, bronchitis, and pneumonia. The observed number of deaths from all neoplasms was also very much less than expected, a result almost entirely due to a large deficit of observed deaths from lung cancer. Raised mortality patterns were found in several refineries for cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, intestines, and rectum, although no location was consistently high for all these causes of death. Different yearof-entry cohorts and job groups were also affected. In general, mortality from these causes increased as length of service and interval from starting work increased. There were also significantly more observed deaths than expected from cancer of the nasal cavities and sinus, and melanoma. Further work is required to ascertain whether these are due to an occupational factor and, if so, to identify the physical or chemical nature of the risk.

Cancer incidence among 41,000 offshore oil industry workers

Occupational medicine (Oxford, England), 2014

Cancer incidence among Norwegian offshore oil industry workers has been studied in two equally sized cohorts of 28000 workers, in a survey-based cohort study followed 1999-2005 and a register-based cohort study followed 1981-2003. To determine the overall cancer incidence in both cohorts merged, with an extended follow-up. The merged cohort yielded 41,140 individuals followed for cancer diagnoses 1999-2009. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed by gender and by period of first employment using cancer registry data. Among female workers, the total number of cancers was slightly higher than expected (SIR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02-1.34), and excesses of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (SIR 5.29, 95% CI 1.72-12), malignant melanoma (SIR 2.13, 95% CI 1.41-3.08) and lung cancer (SIR 1.69, 95% CI 1.03-2.61) were observed. Among male workers, the total number of cancer cases was close to that expected (SIR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99-1.08), but cases of pleural ...

Mortality patterns among men in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry

American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1993

This retrospective follow-up study evaluates the mortality experience of 123,232 male hourly workers employed at a motor vehicle manufacturing company in 1973. Company computerized personnel records were used to identify subjects and to obtain their employment history. Follow-up through December 31, 1985 was conducted using company, state, and national data sources. The mortality rates of the cohort were compared with the rates of the United States (U.S.) general population of white or black men, adjusting for age and calendar time, and using the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) as the measure of association.

Use of multiple causes of death in the analysis of occupational cohorts--an example from the oil industry

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 1994

Objectives-To examine the efficacy of routine examination of multiple causes of death occurring on death certificates in cohort studies, with an example from the oil industry. Methods-The underlying and multiple causes were coded for all notified deaths from a cohort of 35 000 men employed at eight oil refineries in the United Kingdom. Matrices of the frequencies of underlying causes by contributory causes were analysed for the total population and by subgroups defined by refinery, occupation, age, and calendar period of death. Results-Over 75% of the 10128 certificates had two or more causes but this varied by disease. Many ratios of mentions of total to underlying causes were similar to those of England and Wales. Ratios for cancer of the larynx and pneumonia were lower, indicating possible over-reporting of these diseases as the underlying cause. Investigation of an excess of pneumonia deaths at one refinery indicated possible miscoding of the underlying cause or the wrong position of pneumonia on some certificates, particularly in combination with malignancy and stroke. Conclusions-Routine analysis of multiple causes of death can provide useful additional information in cohort studies.

An epidemiological study of petroleum refinery employees

British journal of industrial medicine, 1986

A cohort study of 14179 current and former Chevron USA employees at the Richmond and El Segundo, California, refineries was conducted. The cohort consisted of everyone working at either refinery for a minimum of one year. The observed mortality of the cohort, by cause, was compared with the expected based on the United States mortality rates, standardised for age, race, sex, and calendar time. Analyses by refinery, job category, hire date, duration of employment, and latency were performed. For the entire cohort, mortality from all causes was 72.4% of that expected, a deficit that was statistically significant. In addition, a significantly lower mortality was found for all forms of cancer combined, digestive cancer, lung cancer, heart disease, non-malignant respiratory disease, diseases of the digestive system, and accidents. Only lymphopoietic cancer showed a pattern of increased risk suggestive of a possible relation to an occupational exposure. The excess appears confined to canc...

Retrospective follow-up study of foundry and engine plant workers

American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1993

A retrospective follow-up study of 21,013 workers employed at a foundry and two engine manufacturing plants was conducted to determine if these workers had an unusual mortality experience. A total of 2,235 deaths occurred during the follow-up period of 1970-1987. Mortality from all causes was lower than expected. Men experienced a 6-13% excess of lung cancer deaths, depending on the choice of the comparison group. The data displayed evidence of a positive trend between lung cancer mortality and increasing duration of employment (p = 0.008). White men experienced a statistically significant excess of deaths from stomach cancer (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 158; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 101-234). Black men had increased mortality from pancreatic cancer, especially among engine plant workers (SMR = 303; CI = 121-624), and an excess of prostate cancer, concentrated among foundry workers (SMR = 234; CI = 112-430). 0 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.