Occupational exposure to trichloroethylene and cancer risk for workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Aldrich TE ; Bahr DE ; Brewer DE ; Brion GM ; Chan C ; Dastidar A ; Eger KJ ; Freitas S ; Freyberg RW ; Hahn K ; Ho M ; Hornung, Richard W. ; Hughes T ; McKinney P ; Minor S ; Mohlenkamp AM ; Muldoon S ; Ravdal H ; Reinhart N ; Rice C ; Saman D ; Scutchfield D ; Seidu D ; Tollerud DJ ; Youseefagha A
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) became operational in 1952; it is located in the western part of Kentucky. We conducted a mortality study for adverse health effects that workers may have suffered while working at the plant, including exposures to chemicals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied a cohort of 6820 workers at the PGDP for the period 1953 to 2003; there were a total of 1672 deaths to cohort members. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a specific concern for this workforce; exposure to TCE occurred primarily in departments that clean the process equipment. The Life Table Analysis System (LTAS) program developed by NIOSH was used to calculate the standardized mortality ratios for the worker cohort and standardized rate ratio relative to exposure to TCE (the U.S. population is the referent for ageadjustment). LTAS calculated a significantly low overall SMR for these workers of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.72-0.79). A further review of three major cancers of interest to Kentucky produced significantly low SMR for trachea, bronchus, lung cancer (0.75, 95% CI: 0.72-0.79) and high SMR for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (1.49, 95% CI: 1.02-2.10). RESULTS: No significant SMR was observed for leukemia and no significant SRRs were observed for any disease. Both the leukemia and lung cancer results were examined and determined to reflect regional mortality patterns. However, the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma finding suggests a curious amplification when living cases are included with the mortality experience. CONCLUSIONS: Further examination is recommended of this recurrent finding from all three U.S. Gaseous Diffusion plants. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Men Morbidity Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Age-groups Author Keywords: Cohort Study Bronchial-cancer Cancer Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Gaseous Diffusion Plant Healthy Worker Effect Humans Lung-cancer Lung-function Morbidity-rates Mortality-rates Pollutants Pulmonary-cancer Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Statistical-analysis Trichloroethylene Workers

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• ISSN:
  1077-3525
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Tennessee
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  67-77
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040408
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Environ Health 2011 Mar; 24(1):67-77
• Contact Point Address:
  T.E. Aldrich, University of Kentucky, College of Public Health, 121 Washington Avenue, Lexington, KY 40536-003
• Email:
  ALDRICH@mail.etsu.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Trichloroethylene (CAS RN 79-01-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Louisville
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af9a292b6913c7b12818c8178d0d159addd0b65bb8aa2819913da43701d7389adabf4515b240b9d55eed05c2098717a7be1bbfe568d8c682260e6bff5ec81192
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193291/cdc_193291_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 911.71 KB ]