The Tranguch Gasoline Spill leaked 50,000-900,000 gallons of gasoline from underground storage tanks, potentially exposing an area of Hazle Township and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to chronic low levels of benzene since at least 1990. A retrospective cohort study of 663 individuals representing 275 households assessed whether affected residents were at increased risk for cancer from 1990-2000 compared with the Pennsylvania populace. Age-adjusted standard incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated using Pennsylvania rates to determine expected numbers. The age-adjusted SIR for the gasoline-affected area was 4.40 (95% confidence interval: 1.09-10.24) for leukemia. These results suggest an association between living within the area affected by the Tranguch Gasoline Spill and increased risk for leukemia.
A 10-year cross-sectional analysis was conducted for 233,353 radiographic examinations performed as part of the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program. Demographic and temporal trends in abnormal radiographs were assessed during this analysis. Abnormal radiograph prevalence increased significantly with age, and abnormal radiographs were nearly 30 times more likely to occur among participants 60 to 69 years of age, compared with participants < 20 years of age (odds ratio, 27.57; 95% confidence interval, 14.75-51.53). Men were 5 times more likely than women to have an abnormal radiograph (odds ratio, 5.84; 95% confidence interval, 5.02-6.80); after controlling for differences in age, this gender association remained significant only for participants > 30 years of age. The proportion of abnormal radiographs decreased significantly over the study period [chi2 (df = 1) test for trend, chi2 = 198.7, p < 0.0001], although the cohort mean age increased. Despite aging of the Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program population, the overall prevalence of radiographic abnormalities is declining; future studies should examine the reasons for this observation.
We analyzed weekly disease nonbattle injury data from the Joint Task Force in Haiti during 2004. Surveillance found 908 initial visits during 17,938 person-weeks, for an overall rate of 5.1% (95% confidence interval, 4.7-5.4%), above the reference rate of 4% suggested by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rates of dermatological (1%), respiratory (0.8%), and other medical/surgical (0.9%) conditions were above suggested rates, whereas rates of work injuries (0.6%) and recreational injuries (0.8%) were below suggested rates. Leading causes of light duty (n = 1,079; 6.01 days per 100 person-weeks) were recreational injuries (39%) and work-related injuries (36%), followed by other medical/surgical conditions (12%). One case of malaria was reported during the deployment. These rates are lower than disease nonbattle injury rates of 9.2% to 13% reported for multinational forces from previous operations in Haiti. They are also lower than rates of 7.1% to 8.1% reported from Bosnia and Kosovo in the late 1990s.
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