Open AccessMortality among production workers in pulp and paper mills.
Author(s) -
Robinson Cf,
Richard J. Waxweiler,
Don Fowler
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.621
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.2101
Subject(s) - cohort , medicine , demography , excess mortality , stomach cancer , population , standardized mortality ratio , cohort study , pulp (tooth) , mill , pulp mill , absolute risk reduction , environmental health , cancer , geography , dentistry , engineering , waste management , sociology , effluent , archaeology
A cohort of 3,572 pulp and paper mill workers employed for at least one year between 1945 and 1955 was followed through 31 March 1977. Vital status was determined for 99% of the cohort. The 915 deaths observed were 79% of the number expected on the basis of comparable United States mortality rates. Statistically nonsignificant excesses of deaths due to lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma and to stomach cancer were observed. These findings tend to corroborate reports based on state vital statistics, and preliminary case-referent and population-based studies of workers in the pulp or paper industries. No deaths due to nasal cancer were observed, but only 0.6 were expected. When process-specific analyses were conducted, the excess risk of lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma was increased only for men who worked in sulfate mills. The excess risk of stomach cancer was limited to men who worked in sulfite mills. Process-specific standardized mortality ratios for these causes were highest after 20 years since first employment in the mills.