A retrospective mortality study within operating segments of a petroleum company

Abstract

This retrospective mortality study was conducted among 34,597 oil industry workers in diverse operating segments. Employees were traced through Statistics Canada, and overall mortality (SMR = 0.85) was lower than general population rates and similar to other petrochemical cohorts. The most notable finding was a significant excess of malignant melanoma [observed deaths (N) = 16, SMR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.07, 3.04], which concentrated among upstream workers (N = 6, SMR = 6.00, 95% CI = 2.19, 13.06), and was directly related to employment duration and latency. Specific substances or hydrocarbon (HC) streams could not be implicated, although possible explanations include dermal HC exposure, ultraviolet light exposure, or a synergistic effect between these two factors. Marketing/transportation workers showed a non-significant excess of multiple myeloma (SMR = 1.81), which was also related to employment duration, latency, and commencement of employment before 1950. Lymphatic cancer, skin cancer, and kidney cancer mortality was not elevated in refinery workers, a finding at odds with some previous refinery worker studies. Although the malignant melanoma and possibly the multiple myeloma mortality patterns are consistent with an occupational link, further studies are needed to investigate the relationship of these diseases with particular exposures.

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

“…Relative risks have been near unity in petroleum worker cohort studies in California, 177,178 Texas, [179][180][181] Louisiana, 182,183 US, [184][185][186] Canada 187,188 and Australia. 189 Inconsistent nonsignificant associations were found in an updated (1970-1997) mortality cohort study of 2 refinery/petrochemical plants (SMR for Baton Rouge facility 5 1.47, 95% CI: 0.98-2.11; SMR for Baytown facility 5 0.84, 95% CI: 0.47-1.39).…”

Mesothelioma and lung tumors attributable to asbestos among petroleum workers

“…The scienti®c literature has long reported hygienic data that documents asbestos exposure in oil re®neries [Smyth et al, 1971;Darby et al, 1978;Lilis et al, 1980;Nicholson et al, 1982;Liveright et al, 1986; International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1989;Mehlman, 1991a,b;Gennaro et al, 1995]; moreover, the mortality for mesotheliomas suggests that inhalation of ®bers occurs [von Bittersohl, 1971;von Bittersohl and Ose, 1971;Kaplan, 1986;Christie et al, 1991;Schnatter et al, 1992;Gennaro et al, 1994Gennaro et al, , 1995Honda et al, 1995;Finkelstein, 1996;Tsai et al, 1996a,b;Dement et al, 1998]. Nearly all epidemiological studies analyzing mortality for mesotheliomas in oil re®neries have highlighted statistically signi®cant excesses of risk, ranging from 2 to 24 times above baseline (Table I).…”

Review of new evidence regarding the relationship of gasoline exposure to kidney cancer and leukemia

“…A cohort mortality study presented by Rushton shows no elevation in the SMR (56 cases: SMR = 101) (2). There is also a new mortality study of refinery workers that shows no excess (9 cases: SMR = 91) (3). A metaanalysis by Wong and Raabe shows no overall excess in kidney cancer in a large number of refinery worker studies (4).…”