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A proportional mortality ratio study of workers in a construction equipment and diesel engine manufacturing plant
Author(s) -
Mallin Katherine,
Berkeley Lon,
Young Quentin
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700100204
Subject(s) - medicine , standardized mortality ratio , demography , toxicology , pancreatic cancer , environmental health , population , mortality rate , cancer , excess mortality , occupational exposure , surgery , sociology , biology
The mortality of 461 workers who were employed 10 or more years in a Midwest engine and construction equipment plant was examined, using the method of proportional mortality ratios. Both state and national deaths were used as the standard population. Major exposures in this plant included solvents, cutting oils, and metal fumes and dusts. However, precise exposure data were not available. Among white males, no significant deviations from expected deaths were found. Among black males, significant excess deaths were found for all malignant neoplasms combined, for cancer of the pancreas, and for non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas. Proportional cancer mortality ratios produced similar results, although the excess of pancreatic cancer in blacks was only significant among those with 20 or more years of service. Although complete occupational histories were not available, these results may provide hypotheses for future studies of workers in heavy machinery production.