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Aims: To investigate the effect of exposure to coke oven emissions on the lung function of coke oven workers. Methods: The study population, followed from 1978 and 1990, was 580 male workers with at least two sets of lung function measurements (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75%). An annual rate of change (time slope) for age and height adjusted lung function index was estimated for each subject. This "time slope" was then treated as the response variable in a weighted multiple regression analysis with selected predictors. Results: For all 580 subjects, each year of working in the "operation" group (the most exposed) was found to increase the FVC decline by around 0.7 ml/year (95% CI 0.1 to 1.3 ml/year). After the exclusion of 111 subjects without detailed work history, the above finding was confirmed and each year of exposure in "operation" was also found to increase the FEV1 decline by around 0.8 ml/year (95% CI 0.1 to 1.4 ml/ year). Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the results of previous cross-sectional studies. Work duration in the most exposed position in the coke ovens was associated with increased annual decline for FVC and FEV1. The estimated effect of one year of work exposure in "operation" is equivalent, in terms of the reduction in lung function, to an estimated 2.1 pack-years of smoking for FVC and 1.2 pack-years of smoking for FEV1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which determined the association between lung function of coke oven worker and exposure to coke oven emissions. Methods; Results; Conclusions.

STUDY OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: In Aalsmeer, a horticultural community near the main international airport in The Netherlands, a more than fourfold increase in the incidence of haematopoietic malignancies in young people was observed between 1980 and 1985. In a population based case-control study, the association with local environmental factors was investigated. For each patient younger than 40 years of age (n = 14) diagnosed between 1975 and 1989, four age and sex matched controls were selected via local general practitioners. All parents of patients and controls completed a questionnaire on their lifestyle, living conditions, and health, for several years preceding each individual diagnosis. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, matched, and, if necessary, stratified for neighbourhood. Increased ORs were recorded for intensive use of petroleum products and pesticides by the patients themselves and their fathers: OR petroleum products: 8.0 (95% CI 2.2, 129.9) and 9.0 (1.0, 66.1) respectively; OR pesticides: 6.0 (0.6, 49.3) and 3.2 (1.0, 10.1) respectively. Swimming in a local pond was also significantly associated with the disease: OR = 5.3 (1.3, 17.4). In the 1970s this pond had been polluted by petroleum products and pesticides. The increased incidence of childhood haematopoietic malignancies in Aalsmeer may have been associated with several specific local environmental factors. Interpretation of the results, however, should take into account the fact that confidence intervals were wide because of the limited number of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN--In Aalsmeer, a horticultural community near the main international airport in The Netherlands, a more than fourfold increase in the incidence of haematopoietic malignancies in young people was observed between 1980 and 1985. In a population based case-control study, the association with local environmental factors was investigated. PARTICIPANTS--For each patient younger than 40 years of age (n = 14) diagnosed between 1975 and 1989, four age and sex matched controls were selected via local general practitioners. METHODS--All parents of patients and controls completed a questionnaire on their lifestyle, living conditions, and health, for several years preceding each individual diagnosis. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, matched, and, if necessary, stratified for neighbourhood. MAIN RESULTS--Increased ORs were recorded for intensive use of petroleum products and pesticides by the patients themselves and their fathers: OR petroleum products: 8.0 (95% CI 2.2, 129.9) and 9.0 (1.0, 66.1) respectively; OR pesticides: 6.0 (0.6, 49.3) and 3.2 (1.0, 10.1) respectively. Swimming in a local pond was also significantly associated with the disease: OR = 5.3 (1.3, 17.4). In the 1970s this pond had been polluted by petroleum products and pesticides. CONCLUSIONS--The increased incidence of childhood haematopoietic malignancies in Aalsmeer may have been associated with several specific local environmental factors. Interpretation of the results, however, should take into account the fact that confidence intervals were wide because of the limited number of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]