1. Risk of cancer and exposure to gasoline vapors.
- Author
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Lynge E, Andersen A, Nilsson R, Barlow L, Pukkala E, Nordlinder R, Boffetta P, Grandjean P, Heikkilä P, Hörte LG, Jakobsson R, Lundberg I, Moen B, Partanen T, and Riise T
- Subjects
- Air Pollutants, Occupational analysis, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Denmark epidemiology, Environmental Monitoring, Epidemiological Monitoring, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Incidence, Kidney Neoplasms chemically induced, Kidney Neoplasms epidemiology, Leukemia chemically induced, Leukemia epidemiology, Male, Neoplasms chemically induced, Nose Neoplasms chemically induced, Nose Neoplasms epidemiology, Occupational Diseases chemically induced, Respiratory Tract Neoplasms chemically induced, Respiratory Tract Neoplasms epidemiology, Risk Assessment, Sex Distribution, Volatilization, Air Pollutants, Occupational adverse effects, Gasoline adverse effects, Neoplasms epidemiology, Occupational Diseases epidemiology
- Abstract
Until the introduction of self-service around 1970, service station workers in the Nordic countries were exposed to gasoline vapors. Based on measurements reported in the literature, the 8-hour time-weighted average benzene exposure was estimated to be in the range of 0.5-1 mg/m3. We studied the cancer incidence in a cohort of 19,000 service station workers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. They were identified from the 1970 censuses and followed through 20 years, where 1,300 incident cancers were observed. National incidence rates were used for comparison. The incidence was not increased for leukemia (observed = 28, standardized incidence ratio (SIR) = 0.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6-1.3) not for acute myeloid leukemia (observed = 13, SIR = 1.3, 95% CI 0.7-2.1). The incidence was slightly elevated for kidney cancer observed = 57, SIR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.7) and for pharyngeal, laryngeal, and lung cancer. A 3.5-fold risk of nasal cancer was found (observed = 12, SIR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.8-6.1). This cohort exposed to gasoline vapors with benzene levels estimated to be 0.5-1 mg/m3 showed no excess risk of leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia, a 30% elevated risk of kidney cancer, and a previously unnoticed risk of nasal cancer.
- Published
- 1997
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