Silica and lung cancer: a proportionate mortality study.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Steenland, Kyle
• Description:
  NIOSH investigators sought a cohort of granite cutters exposed primarily to silica (14808607) in an effort to determine whether silica exposed humans were at an increased risk of lung cancer and whether those who have silicosis were at increased risk of lung cancer. This study was described as part of a text book and took the reader through the same steps that the investigator took when conducting the actual study to allow the student to solve the same problems that the investigator solved in the course of the study. The men in the cohort worked in granite sheds near quarries and cut granite to make gravestones, building materials, and other products. Historical levels of exposure were approximately 20 to 50 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) through the 1940s, but were lowered to about 3 to 5mppcf thereafter. Union records identified 2,274 deaths. Analysis of 1,905 deaths revealed that the majority died in Vermont (36%), followed by New York (17%), and Massachusetts (14%). The average age at death was 69 years. Much of the large tuberculosis excess found was due to silicotuberculosis. The problem of competing causes, typical of proportionate mortality studies, was particularly pronounced here not only because of the deficit in heart disease but also because of the counterbalancing excesses in tuberculosis and nonmalignant respiratory disease. A proportionate cause of mortality ratio was calculated, which for lung cancer was 1.09. The excess of silicosis increased with duration of union membership. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Bacterial Infections Dust Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Lung-cancer; Silica-dusts; Occupational-exposure; Cancer-rates; Epidemiology; Risk-factors; Mineral-dusts; Dust-exposure; Respiratory-system-disorders; Bacterial-infections
• ISBN:
  9780195068313
• Publisher:
  Oxford University Press
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Vermont
• 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:
  92-102
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00238246
• Citation:
  Case studies in occupational epidemiology. Steenland K, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993 Jan; :92-102
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Editor(s):
  Steenland K
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Case studies in occupational epidemiology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/243600/cdc_243600_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]