Relationship between lung cancer and distance of residence from nonferrous smelter stack effluent

Abstract

Because of a reported association between residence in counties with nonferrous smelters and increased risk of lung cancer, we studied the relationship between distance of residence from nonferrous smelters and lung cancer. Patients with lung cancer and patients with other cancers not known to be associated with smelter effluent (breast, prostate, and colon) were compared. All patients lived within a 20-kilometer radius around one of 10 nonferrous smelters in five western states during 1970-1977. Data were obtained from cancer registries or death certificates and were examined separately for each area. Addresses at the time of diagnosis or death were plotted on U.S. Geological Survey maps to calculate distance from each smelter. The distribution of lung cancer near the smelters was not significantly different from the distribution of control cancers in any of the areas studied.

Epidemiology of environmental and occupational cancer

“…Ecological studies suggested an increased lung cancer risk (Blot and Fraumeni, 1975;Newman et al, 1976;Pershagen et al, 1977;Matanoski et al, 1981;Cordier et al, 1983;Xiao and Xu, 1985), which was confirmed by some (Brown et al, 1984;Pershagen, 1985;Frost et al, 1987) but not all (Lyon et al, 1977;Greaves et al, 1981;Rom et al, 1982;Marsh et al, 1997Marsh et al, , 1998) subsequent studies with individual information on exposure: arsenic exposure level in some of these studies, however, was likely to be low.…”

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

“…Seven studies used residence proximity and defined exposed populations as persons living within 1.2 km ( Matanoski et al, 1981 ) to 20 km (Greaves et al, 1981 ) of the source. The three other studies in this group identified exposed populations using zones ranging in size from the local community (Wohl et al, 1996;Hwang et al, 1997 ) to the entire county .…”

“…There are many possible reasons for insignificance (Roht et al, 1985;Schulman et al, 1993;Acquavella et al, 1994;Nurminen, 1995 ). As examples, the studies suggested the possibility of sampling and measurement bias ( Willis et al, 1993;Garcõ Âa -Rodrõ Âguez et al, 1996;Morris and Knorr, 1996 ), confounding ( Heary et al, 1980;Archer, 1990;Baghurst et al, 1992;Kilburn and Warshaw, 1995;Pope et al, 1995 ) , insufficient sample size and statistical power (Greaves et al, 1981;Matanoski et al, 1981;Brown et al, 1984;Rosenman et al, 1989;Aschengrau et al, 1996 ) , lack of baseline data ( Willis et al, 1993 ) , and residence mobility Pekkanen et al, 1995 ) . In addition, invalid or inaccurate exposure estimates are likely to weaken associations between exposures and effects, whereas inadvertent association between erroneous exposure estimates and other cofactors might yield false associations.…”

Epidemiological Evidence on Outdoor Air Pollution and Cancer

“…Blot and Fraumeni analysed the U.S. mortality data for the period 1950-69 and found an overall increase in lung cancer rates in 31 counties where non-ferrous smelters were located [34]. Using a case-control approach, Lyon et al [35], Greaves et al [36] and Rom et al [37] tested the association between exposure from non-ferrous smelter emissions and lung cancer risk in 3 smelter counties and failed to demonstrate a relationship between residence and exposure. Two further case-control studies were conducted in the U.S. and Sweden, taking into account potential confounding from employment at the smelter and smoking.…”