Acute and chronic liver toxicity resulting from exposure to chlorinated naphthalenes at a cable manufacturing plant during World War II
✍ Scribed by Elizabeth M. Ward; Avima M. Ruder; Anthony Suruda; Alexander B. Smith; Cynthia A. Fessler-Flesch; Shelia Hoar Zahm
- Book ID
- 102650488
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 742 KB
- Volume
- 30
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0271-3586
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Historical records were used to reconstruct an outbreak of chloracne and acute liver toxicity due to chlorinated naphthalene exposure at a New York State plant which manufactured "Navy cables " during World War II. A cohort mortality study was conducted of the population ( n = 9,028) employed at the plant from 1940 to 1944. Vital status was followed through December 31, 1985. The study found an excess of deaths from cirrhosis of the liver /observed (OBS) = 150; standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.56-2.161; cirrhosis deaths were elevated to a similar degree in the 460 individuals who had chloracne (OBS = 8; SMR = 1.51; CI = 0.65-2.98). The SMR for "non-alcoholic cirrhosis" (OBS = 83; SMU = 1.67; CI = 1.33-2.07) was similar to the SMR for "alcoholic cirrhosis" (OBS = 59; SMU = 1.96; CI = 1.49-2.53). There was no evidence for increased alcoholism in the overall cohort based on mortality from alcohol-related causes of death other than cirrhosis (SMR for esophageal cancer = 1.01 and for deaths from alcoholism = 0.99). We conclude that the excess mortality from cirrhosis of the liver observed in this cohort is due to the chronic effect of chlorinated naphthalene exposure. @ 1996 WileyLiss, hc.*