Mortality of iron foundry workers: IV. Analysis of a subcohort exposed to formaldehyde.

In the final phase of the mortality study of workers at an automotive iron foundry, a subset (N = 3929) of the original cohort of 8147 men, consisting of those exposed to formaldehyde during the period from January 1960 through May 1987, was analyzed. In addition to the external US population, an internal population (N = 2032), consisting of men who had worked in the same foundry during the same time period but not in formaldehyde-exposed jobs, was also used as a referent. Follow-up continued through December 31, 1989.

Epidemiological and mechanistic data suggest that 1,3-butadiene will not be carcinogenic to humans at exposures likely to be encountered in the environment or workplace.

1,3-Butadiene (BD) is a carcinogen in both rats and mice with mice being substantially more sensitive than rats. It is not known if BD poses a carcinogenic risk for humans. Findings from exposure assessment studies indicate that potential industrial exposure to BD in monomer, polymer, and end-user industries is typically < 2 p.

Mortality of iron foundry workers. III. Lung cancer case-control study.

A nested case-control study was undertaken to identify the determinants of lung cancer mortality in a cohort of 8147 foundry men among whom an excess of lung cancer deaths was previously observed. The present study consisted of all lung cancer deaths (N = 220) that occurred within this cohort between 1950 and 1989. both living and dead controls, matched on race and attained age, were selected in the ratio of 10:1 (N = 2200) by means of the incidence density sampling procedure.

Mortality of iron foundry workers. II. Analysis by work area.

Plantwide analyses of the mortality experience of 8147 foundrymen revealed excesses for several diseases including lung cancer. Using indirect measures of smoking, it appeared that most, if not all, of the excess of lung cancer deaths could be explained by smoking habits. To explore further the possible association between these mortality excesses and foundry exposures, jobs were grouped into six work areas on the basis of similarities in production processes.

Mortality of iron foundry workers: I. Overall findings.

A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted among 8147 men and 627 women employed in a gray iron foundry for at least 6 months between 1950 and 1979. More than 1700 deaths occurred during a 35-year period of observation. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for all causes were close to expected values based on the US general population as the standard.