A 10-year incidence survey of respiratory cancer and a case-control study within a cohort of nickel mining and refining workers in New Caledonia

Abstract

The incidence of lung, pleural, nasal, larynx, and pharynx cancer in relation to work in the nickel mining and refining industry was studied from 1978 to 1987 in the male population of the French territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The results showed no greater risk in the population of nickel workers than in the general male population. The incidence of respiratory cancer in New Caledonia was found to be comparable to that of industrialized countries, except for pleural cancer for which there was an excess risk in New Caledonia. A case-control study within the cohort of nickel industry workers comprised 80 lung cancer, 12 larynx cancer, 20 pharynx cancer cases, and 298 controls, and took account of 18 substances to which workers were exposed, five of them nickel compounds. None of the substances, or any other occupational variable, was shown to increase the risk of respiratory cancer, except for cancer of the larynx in relation to level and duration of exposure to dust and engine exhaust fumes on mining sites (odds ratios ranged from five to 5.4 and were significant). These results provide no evidence that exposures specific to the nickel industry in New Caledonia increase the risk of respiratory cancer. This might be due to the involvement of less airborne nickel than the amount observed in positive studies elsewhere. The high incidence of respiratory cancer in New Caledonia, compared with other South Pacific islands, might be attributable to an environmental risk connected with the presence of mineral fibers in the geologic strata, as well as to tobacco and alcohol consumption levels similar to those prevailing in France.

Occupational exposures and lung cancer in New Caledonia

“…Similarly, the first studies in New Caledonia of nickel mining and refining company employees did not find an increased risk of lung cancer, probably because exposure levels were lower than those observed in positive studies in other countries. 1 In this study, the analysis by occupations reveals an excess risk of lung cancer among motor vehicle drivers, particularly bus and truck drivers. This result has been found in numerous studies, among drivers generally, 13 in the transportation industry, 11 14 among men whose jobs require substantial driving, 15 and among truckers.…”

Occupational dust exposure and the risk of laryngeal cancer in Turkey

“…A recent study of the construction industry in the United States reported silica levels for 8-to 10-hour workday estimations up to 280 times higher than the recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.05 mg/m 3 of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (22). Various other occupational factors, such as diesel exhaust exposure and radioactivity, have also been reported as etiologic factors of laryngeal cancer among workers prone to silica exposure, and they can be considered as possible confounders for our results (23,24).…”

Malignant mesothelioma due to non-occupational asbestos exposure from the Italian national surveillance system (ReNaM): epidemiology and public health issues

“…Nevertheless, assessment of the spread and of the health effects of non-occupational asbestos exposure continues to be of great public interest because it is related to peculiar exposure circumstances like living with asbestos workers or close to asbestos mines or manufacturing plants, or naturally occurring asbestos fibres, or in asbestos-insulated buildings 3. In the past four decades, excesses of incidence of mesothelioma and cancer of the lung have been reported as a consequence of the natural presence of asbestos (or asbestos-like) material in rural areas in Turkey,4 Greece,5 Corsica in France,6 Biancavilla (Sicily) in Italy,7 New Caledonia,8 China9 and California in the USA 10. The increased risk of cancer for population groups resident in the vicinity of raw asbestos production sites (mines or mills), as well as for people living close to industrial manufacturing plants producing material containing asbestos, has been demonstrated 11–13…”