A mortality study of cobalt production workers: an extension of the follow-up.

The follow-up of a cohort of workers employed in an electrochemical plant producing cobalt and sodium, previously studied from 1950-1980, has been extended from 1981-1988. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all causes of death was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.

Environmental stresses and strains in an extreme situation: the repair of electrometallurgy furnaces.

Whenever continuous casting furnace breaks down, the emergency intervention necessary to repair it has to be carried out under exceptional environmental conditions caused mainly by heat, as the furnace must be stopped for the shortest possible time. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the stresses and strains to which boilermakers are subjected during the replacement of an electrode element of a 20 MW furnace. The thermal stress was evaluated by the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index.

Risk of lung, larynx, pharynx and buccal cavity cancers among carbon electrode manufacturing workers.

Among workers employed in factories producing carbon graphite products the risk of cancer due to exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was estimated. In one cohort (plant A), a cancer incidence study was carried out; the number of cases were not significantly increased for lung cancers [7 cases, standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 79] or for cancers of the upper respiratory and alimentary tract (10 cases, SIR 103). In another cohort (plant B), a mortality study was carried out; neither the mortality from lung cancer [13 deaths, standardized mortality ratio (SMR) 118] nor that from upper respiratory and alimentary tract cancers (10 deaths, SMR 125) was significantly higher than expected.