Notification of workers about an excess of malignant melanoma: A case study

Abstract

In January 1991, NIOSH completed a retrospective cohort mortality study of 3,588 Westinghouse Electric Corporation workers who had been engaged in the manufacture of electrical capacitors. The study evolved from a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation, which was conducted at the request of the Indiana State Board of Health because of its concern about PCB exposures among the Westinghouse workers. Life table analysis revealed a fourfold excess of deaths due to malignant melanoma. Though the workers were principally exposed to PCBs, the available exposure data did not lend itself to constructing an exposure-response curve that could relate PCB exposure to development of malignant melanomas. This was further complicated by the lack of substantial corroboration from other studies of PCB-exposed cohorts. Because of the magnitude of the malignant melanoma excess and the fact that malignant melanoma is probably more amenable to treatment and remediation than most other cancers, NIOSH determined that notification of the individual cohort members was a prudent and necessary public health action. This article describes the notification process from the time the decision to notify was made through the postnotification period. It details the interaction between NIOSH, the former and current plant owners, the two labor organizations that represented the workers at the plant, and the recipients of the notification materials. Scientific and other issues surrounding this notification effort are also discussed. A number of lessons were learned about the notification process; these are described for the benefit of others who conduct notifications.

UVA/B-Induced Formation of Free Radicals from Decabromodiphenyl Ether

“…Dermal PCB exposure has been shown to significantly increase the risk of melanoma in linemen, cable splicers and electricians (22). This risk was considered so substantial that NIOSH issued a warning for melanoma risk in these workers (52) who are co-exposed to UV light, since they are working frequently outdoors (22). PBDEs may be an even greater risk factor, due to the widespread contamination levels and - as shown in this study - significantly stronger activity in radical formation compared to PCBs.…”

Melanoma and occupation: results of a case-control study.

“…The fieldwork was supervised by Lesley Richardson and the chemical coding was carried out by Michel Gern, Louise Nadon, Denis Begin, and Ramzan Lakhani. Professor Ben Armstrong provided useful statistical advice Appendix: Substances, industries, and occupadons which were not associated with melanoma in any multivariate analyses (number of exposed cases in parentheses)* Substances Abrasives dust (10), alkali, caustic solutions (6), C-C4 alkanes (10), C5-CQ, alkanes (22), C,,+ alkanes (18),…”

Melanoma Epidemiology and Prevention

“…Relatively few studies have been conducted to look for specific environmental risk factors for melanoma, but among these, a number of studies have shown an elevated risk in individuals with suspected exposure to organochlorine compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some chlorine-based pesticides [1,146,161,198,203,207,208,220,240,248]. As noted above, although these studies have some significant limitations, the results, with few exceptions, for implied industrial PCB exposure have been fairly consistently positive.…”