Mortality and cancer incidence in aluminum reduction plant workers
Article Abstract:
Aluminum is manufactured in steel shells called pots that are lined with carbon. Coal-tar pitch and petroleum coke are combined to make a paste that is added to the pot. During the manufacturing process, the pots are heated to very high temperatures and hazardous fumes containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are released from the pitch called coal-tar pitch volatiles (CTPV); this technique is referred to as the Soderberg process. Previous studies have reported that aluminum workers, especially those in Soderberg plants, have an increased risk of bladder, lung, lymph, and pancreatic cancer. This article describes the results of a 30-year study designed to evaluate mortality and cancer incidence among 4,213 aluminum workers who worked for five years or more in a Soderberg aluminum reduction plant in British Columbia. Mortality and cancer incidence in the aluminum workers were compared with mortality and cancer incidence in the general population living in British Columbia. Bladder cancer and death from brain cancer were more common among aluminum workers than in the general population. The risk of developing bladder cancer increased as exposure to CTPVs increased. Rates of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lung cancer were the same among the aluminum workers and the general population. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1991
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Fatal abuse of nitrous oxide in the workplace
Article Abstract:
Nitrous oxide (''laughing gas'') has a reputation as a clean and safe painkiller and anesthetic. It is used widely in dentistry and surgery, and is also widely used in the food industries as a foaming agent for whipped cream. The occurrence of work-related deaths from nitrous oxide from 1984 to 1987 is reported. Eleven deaths occurred, five among laboratory or hospital workers, the remainder in the food industry. Each case involved recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide by young male employees, and the details of each case, where known, are described. The drug was inhaled through masks or plastic bags, and this resulted in loss of oxygen, fainting, and death. Abuse of nitrous oxide among health employees has been previously reported. It can cause addictive behavior and result in tolerance, and psychological addiction may develop. Severe neurological disease may result as well. Employers need to be educated about the potential for abuse, and warning labels about the hazards for suffocation and neurological damage are needed. Access to supplies of nitrous oxide should be controlled as well. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1990
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Suicide in the workplace: incidence, victim characteristics, and external cause of death
Article Abstract:
The National Traumatic Occupations Fatality data base includes the official cause of 2.3 million deaths that occur yearly in the workplace, and of these, 3 percent are suicides, i.e. classified as "intentionally self-inflicted." An evaluation was made of 1,229 suicides that occurred between 1980 and 1985. Of these, 37 percent of the workers were between 16 and 34, while 24 percent were older than 55. Although the rate of suicides for women was low (7.1 percent) and did not significantly change with age, the rate for men was increased with increasing age. Eighty-eight percent of suicides were white. The reasons for suicide at the workplace are difficult to determine, but there is some relationship to job stress and access to lethal weapons. Suicide at work can be unrelated to work, which just may be the environment that an individual chooses to commit suicide in. Because the total number of deaths attributable to this cause is low, the problem is of no great consequence in general, but there appear to be several classes of workers that are at increased risk. These include men involved in agriculture and in the military.
Publication Name: Journal of Occupational Medicine
Subject: Health care industry
ISSN: 0096-1736
Year: 1989
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