Mortality in Dry-Cleaning Workers: An Update

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brown D ; Ruder A ; Ward E
• Description:
  A cohort of 1,708 dry-cleaning workers identified from union records was exposed to perchloroethylene (PCE), a known animal carcinogen and probable human carcinogen, for at least 1 year before 1960. Many workers also had exposure to Stoddard solvent, a petroleum-based dry-cleaning solvent. Vital status was updated through 1996 and life table analyses conducted. The cohort had excess cancer mortality (271 deaths, standardized mortality ratio [SMR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.41). Elevated SMRs for tongue, bladder, esophagus, intestine, lung, and cervical cancer, pneumonia, and diseases of the stomach and duodenum were statistically significant. The current study confirms findings of prior updates and other studies that dry-cleaning workers have excess cancer mortality at several sites. Although important lifestyle and socioeconomic risk factors exist for both cervical and esophageal cancer mortality, excesses of these sites in the PCE only subcohort and among workers with longer duration of PCE exposure suggest an association with PCE exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Solvents Cancer Cancer Mortality Cohort Studies Dry Cleaning Industry Dry Cleaning Solvents Mortality Data Mortality Rates Occupational Exposure Tetrachloroethylene Worker Health Workers

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  121-132
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021854
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2001 Feb; 39(2):121-132
• Contact Point Address:
  Avima M. Ruder, Mailstop R-16, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  amr2@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Tetrachloroethylene (CAS RN 127-18-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• 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:cf21362ea38702bd70a10e735a4e962a1176c8e97f19a8361db3b8d3cd561bca4c46483a80099d588d91c0feda35fa118d22fe9b3b303818fb55717bc8004147
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198948/cdc_198948_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.21 KB ]