Mortality among workers engaged in the development or manufacture of styrene-based products--an update.

Abstract

BOND GG, BODNER KM, OLSEN GW, COOK RR. Mortalit y among wor kers engaged in the development or manufactu re of styrene-based produ cts -an update . Scand J Work Environ Health 1992; 18:145-54. Mortality was updated another 11 years through 1986 for a pr eviously studied cohort of 2904 male chemical workers who were potent ially exposed to styrene and related materials for a year or more between 1937 and 1971. Substantial deficits in mortality from all causes and total cancer were observed in the cohort when it was compared with white males in the United States, and also other chemical worker s who were unexposed to styrene-based products. Mortality from leukemia was slightly less than expected during the updated period , in contrast to an excess of lymphatic leukemia observed in the original period. Yet small elevations in risk of other types of lymphatic cancer, particularly multiple myeloma, persisted. The risk of these cancers did not increase with estimated inten sity or duration of styrene exposure. The findings are discussed in context with those of studies of similarly exposed workers in related industries.

Epidemiology of environmental and occupational cancer

“…This study showed a clear increased risk of leukaemia, based on 58 deaths, with a dose-response (RRs 1.0 (reference group), 1.5 (95% CI 0.7-3.2) and 1.7 (95% CI 0.8-3.9) in the three categories of increasing butadiene exposure; P-value of test for linear trend 0.03), which was not explained by exposure to styrene or other agents. These results receive a limited support by the only other large cohort study conducted Environmental and occupational cancer P Boffetta among butadiene production workers (Divine and Hartman, 1996), while no clear excess was present in the remaining, smaller studies (Bond et al, 1992;Cowles et al, 1994;Ward et al, 1996). Overall, the presence of a causal association between butadiene exposure and occurrence of cancer (leukaemia in particular) in humans is plausible: this conclusion is supported by a single large and very carefully conducted study and is compatible with the results of an additional valid, although less informative, study.…”

Multiple myeloma: A review of the epidemiologic literature

“…[158][159][160][161][162][163][164] Moreover, there was no evidence of an exposure-response relationship in large cohort studies of aerospace and aircraft workers exposed to TCE. 158,159 Bond et al 165 examined cohorts from 4 US styrene plants and observed a significantly increased relative risk (RR 5 2.45, 95% CI: 1.07-5.65) of multiple myeloma in workers exposed to styrene at the Michigan manufacturing location only; however, other studies reported overall nonsignificant relative risk estimates at or below 1.0. 89,134,[166][167][168] Formaldehyde was not found to be linked with multiple myeloma in US or British factory workers, [169][170][171] or in Danish case-control studies.…”

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

“…[218][219][220][221][222][223][224] Sathiakumar et al 220 reported no association with NHL mortality among styrene-butadiene rubber workers employed in the North-American synthetic rubber industry (SMR 5 1.00, 95% CI: 0.75-1.30). Among rubber industry workers at the same plants, Graff et al 225 reported nonsignificant positive associations with the 4 highest categories of styrene exposure, and nonsignificant inverse associations with the 3 highest categories of butadiene exposure.…”