Increased cancers among residents living in the neighborhood of a petrochemical complex: A 12-year retrospective cohort study

Abstract

This study investigates whether cancers are increased for residents living in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex with coal power plants and refineries. We recruited a residential cohort of 2388 long-term residents aged above 35 years in 2009-2012 who lived within a 40 km radius of the complex. We measured their internal exposure biomarkers of urinary carcinogenic metals and retrospectively compared cancer incidences between those who lived fewer than 10 km from the complex (high exposure, HE) and those who lived more than 10 km from the complex (low exposure, LE). Residents had lived in their respective areas for 12 years, since the complex began operating in mid-1999. This included two periods of operation: 0-9 years and 10-12 years. Crude cumulative incident rates (CIRs) of all cancers were calculated for new cancer cases (ICD-9: 140-165, 170-176, 179-208) recorded in the Taiwan Health Insurance Database over total person-years at risk in each study period. Poisson regression was applied to estimate relative risks for the CIRs of all cancers between HE and LE areas during the 10-12 years since the beginning of the complex's operation, adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, smoking, hepatitis C, and occupational exposure. We found that our study subjects in HE areas had higher urinary carcinogenic metal levels, including As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and V, and higher prevalence rates of hepatitis C than those in LE areas. After the complex had been operating for 10-12 years, SIRs per 1000 person-years for all cancers in HE and LE areas were 4.44 vs. 2.48 for all subjects, 15.2 vs. 4.86 for elder subjects aged above 60 years, and 2.94 vs. 2.71 for female subjects. Correspondingly, the adjusted relative risks of CIRs for all cancers between HE and LE areas were 1.29 (95% CI: 0.99-1.68) for all subjects, 1.52 (1.04-2.22) for elder subjects, 1.41 (1.00-1.97) for female subjects, and 1.91 (1.15-3.19) for female elderly subjects. We conclude that elder and female residents living within 10 km of a petrochemical complex had higher carcinogenic exposure and cancers than those living farther away from the complex after the complex had been operating for 10 years.

Increased Chromosomal Damage among Children in Proximity to an Industrial Zone

“…The young are especially susceptible due to their still developing physique as well as immature lungs and immune systems (Branco et al, 2014;Esposito et al, 2014;Korten et al, 2017). Prolonged exposure to high levels of air pollutants may increase the risk of developing cancer especially for those living near to heavy industries (Tsai et al, 2009;Yuan et al, 2018;Seifi et al, 2019). Many epidemiological studies have convincingly demonstrated the deterioration of air quality in schools in the proximity of big industrial areas, which has led to significant respiratory health impacts especially of the acute nature (de Moraes et al, 2010;Godoi et al, 2013;Demirel et al, 2014;Rovira et al, 2014;Suhaimi et al, 2017).…”

Adverse Health Impacts of Living Near an Oil Refinery in Jordan

“…8 Further to that, cancer has been associated with living near oil refinery but the results are not consistent. [11][12][13] There is limited data from the Middle East on health impact of living near an oil refinery.…”

Arsenic exposure and non-carcinogenic health effects

“…45 Specifically, high urinary arsenic levels associate with anti-HAV seroprevalence, HEV seroconversion during pregnancy, elevated risk of hepatitis B infection, and higher prevalence rates of hepatitis C in petrochemical complex area. [49][50][51][52] Finally, increased urinary arsenic levels associates positively with elevated serum concentrations of biomarkers for NAFLD (ALT enzyme), suggesting a higher risk to this disease in Mexican Americans in the US. 53 Consistently, the presence of heavy metal contamination including iAs in soils increased the risk for NAFLD in men with a body mass index (BMI) <24, reinforced the proposal that arsenic exposure is a risk factor for NAFLD occurrence.…”