Cancer Incidence Following Chlorophenol Exposure in a Community in Southern Finland

Abstract

Chlorophenols have contaminated the drinking water system and the local lake in the village of Järvelä in southern Finland. Local geology, ground water streams, and chemical analyses incriminated a local sawmill as the only plausible source of exposure. Cancer incidence in the municipality of Kärkölä (half of the population lives in Järvelä), compared with the rest of the local health-care district and with the greater cancer control region, indicated an excess of soft-tissue sarcomas and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. A case-control study, which focused on cancers of the colon, bladder and soft tissues, lymphomas, and leukemia, demonstrated a significantly elevated risk ratio for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas among persons who consumed fish from the local lake, which was contaminated with chlorophenols. Probable exposure to chlorophenol-contaminated drinking water played a role in the increased incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and possibly was a factor in the development of soft-tissue sarcoma.

Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies

“…Similarly diverse applications have been seen in studies of water pollution ( e.g., Baker et al, 1978;Lebowitz et al, 1992;Rao et al, 1995 ) and hazardous waste (e.g., Lagakos et al, 1986;Lampi et al, 1992;Gamble and Lewis, 1996;Molholland et al, 1998 ). Exposure indicators using residence location are easy and inexpensive to construct, and increased use is anticipated given advances in geographic information systems (GIS ) and databases that simplify identification of potentially polluted areas (Clark et al, 1982;Budnick et al, 1984;Geschwind et al, 1992;Dayal et al, 1995 ).…”

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

“…A subsequent population-based case-control study was conducted in the same geographical area, and an OR of 2.3 (95% CI: 1.4-3.8) was reported for individuals in the high dioxin exposure category. 163 Lampi et al 135 reported a significantly positive association with NHL risk in a Finnish community whose water system was contaminated with chlorophenols (RR 5 2.8, 95% CI: 1.4-5.6). Individual exposure measurements were not available in these studies.…”

Follow-up study of cancer incidence after chlorophenol exposure in a community in southern Finland

“…The observed and expected numbers of cancer in the Kärkölä municipality were obtained for three periods These are the same cancers that were included in the first study on the chlorophenol-exposure episode in Kärkölä (6). The expected numbers were based on the gender-, age-, and calendar-year-specific cancer incidence rates in the Tampere cancer control region (1.2 million inhabitants), to which the Kärkölä municipality belongs.…”

“…A two-part investigation of cancer risk in Kärkölä was conducted immediately after the population exposure with chlorophenols was confirmed (6). An ecological analysis at the municipality level revealed that the incidence of soft-tissue cancer and non-Hodgkin's Lampi et al lymphoma in the municipality of Kärkölä was significantly higher than in the rest of the cancer-control region.…”