Mortality patterns among electrical workers employed in the U.S. Construction Industry, 1982–1987

✍ Scribed by C.F. Robinson; M. Petersen; S. Palu

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 229 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199912)36:6<630::aid-ajim5>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

Background Studies of electrical workers in the utility and manufacturing industries have reported excess site-speci®c cancer. No previous studies of electrical workers in the construction industry have been conducted. Methods Our study evaluated the mortality patterns of 31,068 U.S. members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who primarily worked in the construction industry and died 1982±1987. Results Comparison to the U.S. population by using the NIOSH life table showed signi®cantly elevated proportionate mortality for many causes. Excess mortality for leukemia (proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) 115) and brain tumors (PMR 136) is similar to reports of electrical workers with occupational exposure to electric and magnetic ®elds in the electric utility or manufacturing industry. Excess deaths due to melanoma skin cancer (PMR 123) are consistent with ®ndings of other PCB-exposed workers. A signi®cantly elevated PMR was observed for the diseases caused by asbestos: lung cancer (PMR 117), asbestosis (PMR 247), and malignant mesothelioma (PMR 356) and from fatal injuries, particularly electrocutions (PMR 1180). The ®ndings of statistically signi®cant excess deaths for prostate cancer (PMR 107), musculoskeletal disease (PMR 130), suicide (PMR 113), and disorders of the bloodforming organs (PMR 141) were unexpected. Conclusion Results suggest that more detailed investigations of occupational risk factors and evaluation of preventive practices are needed to prevent excess mortality in this hazardous occupation. Am.