Cancer incidence of workers in the Finnish pulp and paper industry.

cancer incidence among pulp and paper mill workers in British Columbia. Scand J Work Environ Health 2001;27(2):113-119.Objectives A study was conducted to investigate cancer risks in a cohort of pulp and paper workers. Methods All male workers with ≥1 years of employment in 14 pulp and paper mills in 1950-1992 were studied. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were used to compare the cancer incidence of the cohort with that of the Canadian male population. Record linkage with the National Cancer Registry was performed using the generalized iterative record linkage method.Results Altogether 1756 cancer cases were observed in the entire cohort. For ≥15 years of work, the entire cohort had significantly increased SIR values for pleural and prostate cancer and skin melanoma; there was also a significantly increased risk for skin melanoma among workers in the kraft process only, rectal cancer among workers in the sulfite process only, and stomach and prostate cancer and all leukemias combined among workers in both the kraft and sulfite processes. A separate analysis comparing workers in pulping and papermaking with those in the pulping process only did not reveal any difference in cancer risk and hence did not modify the results. The SIR values for skin melanoma were not significantly increased in a comparison using the British Columbia male population. Nine of 10 pleural cancers were mesotheliomas, which likely reflect past asbestos exposure. ConclusionsThe results suggest that long-term work in the pulp and paper industry is associated with excess risks of prostate and stomach cancers and all leukemias for work in both kraft and sulfite processes and of rectal cancer for work in the sulfite process only.

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

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confidence: 83%

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confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cohort cancer incidence among pulp and paper mill workers in British Columbia

Band¹,

Le²,

Fang³

et al. 2001

“…Few studies have reported increased cancer risks among female workers in pulp and paper mills, except for an increased risk for ovarian cancer in a Norwegian study (2). Increased incidences of lung cancer have been observed among sulfite mill workers (3, 4), sulfate mill workers (5), workers exposed to organic chlorinated compounds (6), and paper and board mill workers (7). Furthermore, an excess risk for lung cancer was observed for maintenance workers; it was attributed to exposure to asbestos (8) and to wood dust (9).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cancer incidence among male pulp and paper workers in Norway

Langseth¹,

Andersen²

2000

Objectives The study investigated cancer incidence among 23 718 male pulp and paper workers employed continuously for at least 1 year between 1920 and 1993 in Norway. Methods The name, date of birth, personal identification number, dates of hire and termination for all employment periods, specific department, and job categories were registered for each worker. Six subcohorts were established (sulfite mill, sulfate mill, paper mill, maintenance department, administrative staff and other departments). Data on the cohort were linked with data in the Norwegian Cancer Register. The follow-up period for cancer incidence, date of death, or emigration was from 1953 through 1993. Results An excess incidence of lung cancer was found among both short-and long-term employees [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.13-2.03 and SIR 1.2, 95% CI 1.09-1.34, respectively], especially for workers with the longest latency (SIR 1.3,95% CI 1.08-1.44) and for sulfite mill workers (SIR 1.5,95% CI 1.09-1.99). The risk for pleural mesothelioma was also increased (SIR 2.4,95% CI 1.45-3.75), especially among maintenance workers. The results also showed an increased risk for malignant melanoma (SIR 1.3,95% CI 1.04-1.60), an unexpected finding. C O~C~U S~O~S Almost all the increased risk for lung cancer can be explained by a combination of smoking habits and asbestos use, although an effect of other work-related exposures (sulfur and chloride compounds, wood dust) cannot be excluded. Most of the cases of pleural mesothelioma occurred in departments where asbestos was used. There is no clear explanation for the excess of malignant melanoma, and the finding may be a chance occurrence.Key terms lung cancer, malignant melanoma, occupational cohort, pleural mesothelioma, pulp and paper mills.

“…Th e investigation was performed simultaneously with a study o f cancer incidence among Finnish pulp and paper wo rker s (14).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cancer incidence of workers in a Finnish sawmill.

Jäppinen¹,

Pukkala²,

Tola³

1989

Self Cite

JApPI NE N P, PUKK ALA E, TO LA S. Ca ncer incidence of workers in a Finni sh sawmill. Scand J Work Environ Health 1989;15:18-23. The cancer incidence of I 223 sawm ill workers with continuo us employment of at least on e year between I Janu ar y 1945 and 31 December 1961 was followed until 31 December 1980. Separate a nalyses were mad e for the 80 1 workers hired after I J anu ar y 1945, and smo king hab its were surveyed. Among the men, 90 cases of primar y cancer were detected versus 83.5 expected and amo ng the women 55 cancer cases versus 44.5 expected. Skin cancer was in excess amo ng the men , especially among those empl oyed aft er I J anuary 1945. Lip, mou th , and phar ynx cancer and lymph omas were also slightl y in excess among the men, as was leukemia amo ng both sexes. Workplace expo sur e, especially to chlorophenols, may be associated with the excess skin cancer a nd the slight excess of lymphom as, but this finding should be furt her evaluated with special emphasis on well-defined exposure data .