Update of a prospective study of mortality and cancer incidence in the Australian petroleum industry

Abstract

Aims:To update the analysis of the cohort mortality and cancer incidence study of employees in the Australian petroleum industry.Methods:Employees from 1981 to 1996 were traced through the Australian National Death Index and the National Cancer Statistics Clearing House. Cause specific mortality and cancer incidence were compared with those of the Australian population by means of standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardised incidence ratios (SIRs). Associations between increased incidence of specific cancers and employment in the petroleum industry were tested by trends according to period of first employment, duration of employment, latency, and hydrocarbon exposure, adjusting for personal smoking history where appropriate. Total follow up time was 176 598 person-years for males and 10 253 person-years for females.Results:A total of 692 of the 15 957 male subjects, and 16 of the 1206 female subjects had died by the cut off date, 31 December 1996. In males, the all-cause SMR and the SMRs for all major disease categories were significantly below unity. There was a non-significant increase of the all-cancer SIR (1.04, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.11). There was a significant increase of the incidence of melanoma (SIR 1.54, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.81), bladder cancer (SIR 1.37, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.83), and prostate cancer (SIR 1.19, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.40), and a marginally significant excess of pleural mesothelioma (SIR 1.80, 95% CI 0.90 to 3.22), leukaemia (SIR 1.39, 95%CI 0.91 to 2.02), and multiple myeloma (SIR 1.72, 95% CI 0.96 to 2.84).Conclusions:Most cases of mesothelioma are probably related to past exposure to asbestos in refineries. The melanoma excess may be the result of early diagnosis. The excess bladder cancer has not been observed previously in this industry and is not readily explained. The divergence between cancer incidence and cancer mortality suggests that the “healthy worker effect” may be related to early reporting of curable cancers, leading to increased likelihood of cure and prolonged mean survival time.

Increased risk of acute myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma in a historical cohort of upstream petroleum workers exposed to crude oil

“…Studies of petroleum workers have shown an association between benzene exposure and leukemia [9][10][11][12]. Some studies of petroleum workers have found an elevated risk of multiple myeloma [13][14][15], while others have not [9,12,16]. Further, although a relation between non-Hodgkin lymphoma and benzene exposure has been suggested [7,8], most studies in the petroleum industry have not found any increased risk [5,17].…”

“…Studies of petroleum workers have shown an association between benzene exposure and leukemia [9][10][11][12]. Some studies of petroleum workers have found an elevated risk of multiple myeloma [13][14][15], while others have not [9,12,16].…”

Evaluation of exposure biomarkers in offshore workers exposed to low benzene and toluene concentrations

“…While benzene (Group 1) (IARC 1987) and ethylbenzene (Group 2b) (IARC 2000) have been classified as carcinogens, the main concern for exposures to toluene and xylene are their effects on the central nervous system. Studies performed in the upstream petroleum industry have reported wide ranges of volatile organic hydrocarbon concentrations measured in air (Verma et al 2000;Glass et al 2000;Steinsvåg et al 2007;Bråtveit et al 2007;Runion 1988;Kirkeleit et al 2006a), as well as increased risk of cancer types that has been associated with these hydrocarbons such as leukemia (Glass et al 2003;Kirkeleit et al 2008;Aas et al 2009), multiple myeloma (Kirkeleit et al 2008), malignant melanoma (Lewis et al 2000;Sorahan et al 2002;Gun et al 2004Gun et al , 2006Christie et al 1991;Wong and Raabe 2000), and kidney cancer (Gun et al 2006).…”

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). 190 No significant associations between occupation in the oil industry (OR 5 0.94, 95% CI: 0.46-1.89) or occupational exposure to petroleum products (OR 5 1.2, 95% CI: 0.7-2.2) and risk of NHL were reported in 2 large case-control studies.…”