Cancer Morbidity in Iron and Steel Workers in Korea

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahn YS ; Jang JK ; Kang SK ; Park RM ; Stayner L
• Description:
  Background: In the iron and steel industry, workers are potentially exposed to a number of carcinogens and are involved in a number of processes of a hazardous nature. The cancer morbidity of iron and steel workers from modern plants in a developing country is described. Methods: Cancer morbidity at two Korean iron and steel complexes was analyzed using Poisson regression methods. Work histories were merged with the national cancer registry for 44,974 workers who were followed from 1988-2001. Results: Four hundred sixty-four cancers, in 1% of the population, were diagnosed over 14 years. Based on national cancer rates, the cohort exhibited a healthy worker effect for all cancer (SIR=0.87, 95% CI=0.79-0.95) reflecting relative good health, particularly for lung cancer (SIR=0.58, 95% CI=0. 04-0.82), stomach cancer (SIR=0.78, 95% CI=0.64-0.93), and liver cancer (SIR=0.83, 95% CI=0.68-1.01). Lung cancer morbidity was significantly elevated at the affiliated plants versus the parent plants (SRR=2.35, 95% CI=1.07-4.92), and all-cancer morbidity was significantly elevated for maintenance workers compared to office and production workers (SRR=1.27, 95% CI=1.00-1.60). Lymphohematopoietic cancer incidence was higher in the coke plants (SRR=3.46, 95% CI=1.02-8.91) and stomach cancer incidence was higher in the maintenance departments (SRR=1.66, 95% CI=1.05-2.56). Conclusions: This recent steel worker cohort exhibits possible excess cancer morbidity in some processing areas. Further follow-up of this cohort and alternate study designs such as case-control study will be needed to elucidate the relationship of exposure and health risks of iron and steel workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Demography Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Ferrous Compounds Hematopoietic System Liver Lung Lung Diseases Maintenance Metal Workers Morbidity Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Cancer Cancer-rates Coke-oven-workers Coke-ovens Demographic-characteristics Disease-incidence Hematopoietic-system Iron-workers Iron-working-industry Liver-cancer Lung-cancer Lymphatic-system Maintenance-workers Mathematical-models Morbidity-rates Statistical-analysis Steel-industry Steelworkers Stomach-cancer

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  49
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030593
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2006 Aug; 49(8):647-657
• Contact Point Address:
  Yeon-Soon Ahn, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Institute, Centers for Occupational Disease Research, 403-711,#34-4 Gusan-dong,Bupyeong-gu, Incheon-city, Korea
• Email:
  ysahn@kosha.net
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; Chromium(6+) (CAS RN 18540-29-9) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Sulfuric acid (CAS RN 7664-93-9) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4fefe4341d446b1b1f13d48e86607687712216a588f8bda09e9423363302b0305247bd7d1b80f252443f79f1379b41bafbedbb9dcc63726249761be4388ebc9c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191149/cdc_191149_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 130.19 KB ]