Updated mortality among diverse operating segments of a petroleum company

Abstract

Objectives-To update mortality for 34 560 employees from diverse operating segments of a Canadian petroleum company; and to investigate potential relations with occupational factors. Methods-Employees from 1964-83 were linked to the Canadian mortality data base to provide 11 years additional follow up. There were 6760 deaths and 750 683 person-years of follow up compared with 3909 and 428 190, respectively, in the earlier study. Analyses used standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) to compare worker cause specific mortality with the Canadian general population. Duration of employment and latency analyses were performed for causes previously found to be increased in this and other petroleum cohorts, as well as any findings of interest. Results-For the period 1964-94, employees experienced significantly low overall mortality (SMR=0.86 men, SMR=0.80 women). Kidney cancer, which has been increased in some studies of petroleum workers, was not increased. Acute nonlymphocytic leukaemia in exposed operating segments was consistent with the expected or only slightly, non-significantly increased. The most notable finding was increased deaths from mesothelioma among refinery and petrochemical workers (SMR 8.68; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.51 to 13.03), most of whom were long term employees in jobs with presumed exposure to asbestos (mechanical and pipefitters). Deaths from multiple myeloma among marketing and distribution workers, which were previously increased, remained increased (SMR 2.08; 95% CI 0.95 to 3.95) in the update period 1984-94; however, there was no clear pattern by duration of employment or latency. Aortic aneurysms, which also were previously significantly increased among marketing and distribution workers approached the expected in the update period (SMR 1.18; 95% CI 0.65-1.98). Analyses by duration of employment showed suggestive trends for aortic aneurysms, but earlier studies of this cohort have not found a relation between aortic aneurysms and exposure to hydrocarbons. Conclusion-The additional 2851 deaths and 322 493 person-years of follow up strengthened the assessment of mortality patterns relative to occupational factors.With the exception of mesothelioma, no clear work related increases in disease were identified. (Occup Environ Med 2000;57:595-604)

Multiple myeloma: A review of the epidemiologic literature

“…148 In a cohort of petroleum workers exposed to gasoline, Wong et al 152 observed a nonsignificant inverse association (SMR 5 0.79, 95% CI: 0.46-1.24) based on 17 observed cases.…”

Occupational exposure to gasoline and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A review and meta-analysis of the literature

“…Thirty-five studies examined the risk of NHL among workers exposed to gasoline (Table 1) [7][8][9]11,12,. Most were conducted in North America [7][8][9]11,[17][18][19][20][21]23,24,[28][29][30]32,33,37,39,40,42,44]; six in Scandinavia [25][26][27]36,38,41] and Europe [16,22,31,35,43,45]; and two in Australia/New Zealand [12,34].…”

“…In another two papers by Lewis et al [10], this time studying a Canadian petroleum company, the later-dated article reported the risk in the cohort as a whole while we referred to the earlier one as it focused on risks by operating segment where exposures were likely to differ [11]. For two cohorts of petroleum workers [11,12], additional findings were reported by benzene exposure levels using a nested case-control design [13,14].…”

“…However, since risks for employees at the third refinery were reported separately by Lewis and colleagues, the estimates for this refinery are Table 1 Description of epidemiological studies reporting the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among occupations exposed to gasoline. [9] 1970, followed to 1992 2187 male retired workers at ExxonMobil refinery and petrochemical plants, Bayway/Bayonne, NJ Lewis et al (2000b) [10,11,13,[94][95][96] 1964-1983, followed to 1994 20,068 male and 7732 female oil industry workers employed for at least 1 year in Canadian petroleum company Consonni et al (1999) [22,97] 1949-1982, followed to 1991 1583 male workers in oil refinery plant, Milan, Italy [23,[98][99][100][101] 1947-1993, followed to 1993 24,604 white male workers employed for at least 5 years at Texaco refineries, petrochemical plants and research labs, USA Wong et al (1999) [24,102] 1946-1985, followed to 1989 18,135 workers at land-or marine-based distribution terminals at selected locations, USA with exposure to gasoline for at least 1 year Pukkala (1998) [25] 1971-1982, followed to 1994 9454 workers employed for at least 3 months at Neste oil refinery, petrochemical plants and head office, Finland Jarvholm et al (1997) [26] 1958-1987, followed to 1991 4128 male workers employed for at least 1 year at Swedish refineries, distribution companies, lubrication oil manufacturing industries, tank cleaning companies and companies handling air fuel in jobs involving exposure to petroleum products Lynge et al (1997) [27] 1970, followed to 1987, 1991, 1989 and 1985 16,524 male and 2445 female service station workers identified on Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish 1970 censuses Collingwood et al (1996) [28] 1946-1987, followed to 1987 4433 male workers employed for at least 1 year at Mobil refinery, Paulsboro, NJ Satin et al (1996) [29,103,104] 1937-1983, ...…”

Effects Of Benzene on Human Hematopoiesis

“…Numerous mortality and incidence studies assessing this association have been performed mainly in benzene-exposed workers from the production of natural rubber film [139][140][141][142], shoe-producing industry [143,144] and the petroleum industry [19,20,[145][146][147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154][155][156][157], but other industries and occupations have also been examined [90,[158][159][160]. Table 3 provides an overview of studies that includes estimates of the quantitative risk of benzene exposure.…”