Retrospective mortality study of oil shale workers, 1948-1977

Details

• Personal Author:
  Costello J
• Description:
  A cohort of 713 workers, employed in the oil shale industry between 1948 and 1969, were examined in a retrospective mortality study. These workers were primarily employed at the Anvil Points Oil Shale Facility near Rifle, Colorado, with a small group having been employed at the Union Oil Retort Facility at Grand Valley, Colorado. Of this cohort, 205 men were found to be deceased. Death certificates were available for 181 men, leaving a balance of 24 known dead without certificates. Analyses were done on 47 separate causes of death. Based on the Standard Mortality Ratios obtained using Colorado-Utah white males as controls, this sample was found to have lower ratios than might be expected. We did, however, find significantly increased deaths due to malignant neoplasms of the colon and respiratory system. Oil shale work was sporadic and many of this group were smokers or ex-smokers and also had worked intermittently in uranium, vanadium, and other mining, which is also done in the area. A case control study to examine smoking and other mining exposures was done and it confirmed risks associated with smoking and radioactive exposure in persons dying of malignancies. Those employed in the mining phase of oil shale work had the lowest mortality ratios for selected causes, while those employed in maintenance had the highest. Retorting and miscellaneous workers had mortality ratios that were intermediate in value. It is concluded that oil shale workers' mortality rates are lower than the regional control population, with the possible exception of increased rates of colon and respiratory malignancies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Minerals Mining Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Cancer Gastrointestinal-system-disorders Lung-cancer Lung-disease Lung-disorders Mineral-processing Mining-industry Mortality-data Mortality-rates Mortality-surveys Oil-shale Respiratory-system-disorders Statistical-analysis

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• ISBN:
  9780918062390
• Publisher:
  Colorado School of Mines Press
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  369-375
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046563
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 13th Oil Shale Symposium April 16-18, 1980, Golden, Colorado. Gary JH, ed. Golden, CO: Colorado School of Mines Press, 1980 Aug; :193-207
• Editor(s):
  Gary JH
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1980
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 13th Oil Shale Symposium April 16-18, 1980, Golden, Colorado
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8a5a176f5b43f50b577e6214b82e9734679442839ef19badc8fea490560ab30e2d98d97a864bbacb09f223d43ada430c8bdb8348c1c5790e7a50d49541d747b4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201577/cdc_201577_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 822.63 KB ]