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

Abstract

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.

Cancer mortality in a Swedish cohort of pulp and paper mill workers

“…Previously reported risk excesses in Sweden were of gliomas, which are usually fatal, thus any signiWcant increase in them should be detectable in a mortality study of this kind. Many other studies have found increased risks for lung cancer among pulp and paper mill workers, with asbestos, sulfur dioxide as well as sulWte pulping among the suggested causal exposures (Torén et al 1996b;Band et al 1997Band et al , 2001Henneberger and Lax 1998;Langseth and Andersen 2000;Carel et al 2002;Lee et al 2002). One study also found mill workers exposed to organochlorine compounds to have an increased risk for lung cancer (Jäppinen and Pukkala 1991), but IARC analyses of organochlorine compounds among pulp and paper mill workers could not conWrm these Wndings (McLean et al 2006).…”

“…However, the same could not be conWrmed in this cohort; if there was any increase, it was among sulfate pulping male workers during 1952-1971. In the cohort analyses we Wnd some increased mortalities of cancer that could be due to chance which, however, needs further discussion. Besides smoking, few risk factors are known for pancreatic cancer, although a few other reports of increases in pancreatic cancers among pulp and paper mill cohort studies from several departments have been published (Band et al 2001;Wild et al 1998). The female oYce workers showed increased mortality from pancreatic cancer but no increases in lung cancer mortality, suggesting that they did not smoke any more than the general population, although the group studied was too small to draw Wrm conclusions.…”

“…Some Swedish and North American studies have also reported an associated increase in brain tumor mortality (Band et al 1997;Matanoski et al 1998;Andersson et al 1998Andersson et al , 2001Andersson et al , 2002. Some studies have also found that risks of stomach cancer, possibly associated with sulWte pulping, may be increased by employment in the industry (Wingren et al 1985;Torén et al 1996b;Band et al 1997Band et al , 2001. Furthermore, exposures to sulfur dioxide as well as sulWte pulping have been associated with increased mortality from lung cancer among pulp mill workers (Henneberger and Lax 1998;Lee et al 2002).…”

Mortality from lung cancer in workers exposed to sulfur dioxide in the pulp and paper industry.

“…Some early studies (Lee and Fraumeni 1969;Rencher et al 1977) in SO 2 -exposed workers showed an increased mortality from lung cancer, but in those studies exposure to SO 2 occurred together with exposure to known or suspected carcinogens such as arsenic. Previous studies have reported an increased mortality from lung cancer among workers employed in the pulp and paper industry and, in particular, in sulfite pulp manufacture and maintenance (Band et al 2001;Langseth and Andersen 2000;Szadkowska-Stanczyk and Szymczak 2001;Toren et al 1991). It was suggested that asbestos, dust, or chlorinated compounds could be among the agents responsible for the increased lung cancer mortality, but no formal attempt was made in these studies to assess exposure to specific agents.…”

Gliomas among men employed in the Swedish pulp and paper industry

“…A pulp and paper mill cohort in Canada showed increased mortality for brain tumors among sulfite mill workers (table 4) (4). When the incidence in the same cohort was studied, but with a shorter follow-up time, the increase was no longer significant (table 3) (12). In an internal comparison in a large cohort mortality study in the United States, an increased risk was observed among workers in semi-chemical and soda pulp processing (relative risk 2.3, 95% CI 1.4-3.9) as compared with other pulp and paper mill workers (5).…”