Mortality of Workers Employed at Organochlorine Pesticide Manufacturing Plants:An Update

摘要

A mortality study of workers at four organochlorine pesticide manufacturingfactories was updated through 1987. The cohorts included all white male workers employed for at least 6 months before December 31, 1964 at the four factories. The workers had been exposed to the following organochlorine pesticides: chlordane (57749), heptachlor (76448), endrin (72208), aldrin (309002), dieldrin (60571), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (50293) (DDT). Workers at one factory had been exposed to the organobromine pesticide dibromochloropropane (96128). The total number of deaths for the period from 1976 through 1987 was 650. Mortality for all causes and all malignant neoplasms was lower than expected at each of the factories. Cerebrovascular disease mortality was elevated for three of the four factories. The most important result was the statistically significant increase in liver/biliary tract cancer among workers at the facility where aldrin and dieldrin were the primary organochlorine pesticides produced and the nonsignificant increase at the facility where DDT was manufactured.