Proportionate Mortality Among Construction Laborers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burkhardt G ; Fingerhut, Marilyn A. ; Kornak M-F ; Schulte P ; Stern F ; Sweeney, Marie H. ; Vossenas P
• Description:
  To obtain more information regarding the health and safety risks among workers in the construction industry, a systematic research approach was initiated to describe the mortality risks among each of the fifteen Building and Construction Trades Departments of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. This paper presents the results of proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) analyses and proportionate cancer mortality ration (PCMR) analyses among the 11,685 members of the Laborers' international Union of North America (LIUNA) who died between 1985-1988, using U.S. proportionate mortality rates as the comparison population. Statistically significant elevated mortality risks were observed for all malignant neoplasms (N=3285, PMR=1.13, CL=1.09-1.17), as well as for site-specific neoplasms of the lung (N=1208, PCMR=1.06, CI=1.00-1.12, stomach (N=170, PCMR=1.44, CI=1.23-1.68), and thyroid gland (N=10, PCMR=2.24, CI=1.07-4.12). The PCMRs for these malignant neoplasms were elevated among both white and non-white males, regardless of length of union membership, in most 10-year categories of age-at-death above 40 and for the three largest LIUNA regions examined. The study also observed a total of 20 mesothelioma deaths which indicated that some LIUNA members had been previously exposed to asbestos. Statistically significant elevated risks were also observed for deaths from transportation injuries (N=448, PMR=1.37, CI=1.25-1.51) falls (N=85, PMR=1.34, CI=1.07-1.66), and other types of injuries (M=245, PMR=1.61, CI=1.42-1.83). The deaths due to injuries were most often observed among those members who had the shortest amount of time within the union were younger, and first entered the union after 1955. This is the first study examining the mortality experience limited to construction laborers the (BOC 869). Other studies which have included construction laborers as part of their cohort have observed findings similar to those of ours, with the exception of the excess risk of thyroid cancer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Asbestos Construction Industry Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

  More +
• Keywords:
  Accident Statistics Asbestos Workers Cancer Rates Construction Workers Mortality Data Occupational Accidents Occupational Exposure Risk Factors
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053439
• Citation:
  Public Health and Diversity: Opportunities for Equity, APHA 122nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 30 - November 3, 1994, Washington, DC. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 1994 Oct; :183
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Public Health and Diversity: Opportunities for Equity, APHA 122nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 30 - November 3, 1994, Washington, DC
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:05320fc29c43884f7ce5ee643e8fb250ddcc68aa9c1870383511a094ed00335c3891fc6e32edf5b06310edd61fa0f359a0cda87f283574f32a962933976a45cc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216191/cdc_216191_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.36 MB ]