Investigation of an apparent increased prevalence of brain tumors in a U.S. petrochemical plant.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alexander V ; Leffingwell, Sanford S. ; Lloyd JW ; Miller RL ; Waxweiler, Richard J.
• Description:
  An apparent increased prevalence of brain tumor deaths in a petrochemical facility in Texas was investigated. These studies were a part of more complete occupational health evaluation undertaken by OSHA, NIOSH and the company. Twenty cases of primary brain cancer death were examined using work history data. The interval from first employment to death varied from 3.5 to 36 years, with a median of 24 years. All cases occurred in males; 80 percent of the tumors were glioblastomas. Preliminary examination of work histories failed to establish any common job title, department code or chemical exposure. Mortality studies revealed an excess brain cancer risk among rubber (SIC-3069), pharmaceutical (SIC-2834), vinyl-chloride (75014) (SIC-2821), chemists (SIC-8071), and petrochemical and oil refinery workers (SIC-2911). An elevated risk was observed among veterinarians (SIC-0742), machinists (SIC-3599), lead smelter (SIC-3332) and aluminum reduction (SIC-3334) workers. No specific causative agents were clearly identified, with the exception of vinyl-chloride. The authors conclude that these tumors are the likely result of occupational chemical exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Cancer-rates Health-surveys Industrial-chemicals Industrial-hygiene Medical-research Mortality-rates NIOSH-Author
• ISBN:
  9780897661522
• ISSN:
  0077-8923
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  97-107
• Volume:
  381
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00126034
• Citation:
  Ann NY Acad Sci 1982 Apr; 381(1):97-107
• CAS Registry Number:
  Vinyl chloride (CAS RN 75-01-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1982
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3069 - Fabricated rubber products, not elsewhere classified - (SIC) ; 2834 - Pharmaceutical preparations - (SIC) ; 2821 - Plastics materials and resins - (SIC) ; 8071 - Medical laboratories - (SIC) ; 2911 - Petroleum refining - (SIC) ; 3599 - Industrial machinery, not elsewhere classified - (SIC) ; 3332 - Primary Lead - (SIC) ; 3334 - Primary aluminum - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1593a454f421cd3f1bc74a48c4f2aa364b6d9d5812ca43923accf4e088816b37b5e9bcb9ec095b4c251dc41d3ec10378502d9eae60923eee8b6cd8be02d95394
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184576/cdc_184576_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 620.99 KB ]