Background: We updated through 2007 the mortality experience of 1,874 workers employed at a New York State chemical manufacturing plant between 1946 and 2006.
Methods: Reassessed exposures to vinyl chloride, carbon disulfide, and shift work and categories of o-toluidine exposure were based on year, department and job title. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) compared mortality to that of the US population. Internal comparisons used directly standardized rate ratios.
Results: Hepatobiliary cancer mortality was elevated among workers ever exposed to vinyl chloride (SMR = 3.80, 95% confidence interval 1.89-6.80); directly standardized rates increased with increasing vinyl chloride exposure duration. No increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma mortality was observed with vinyl chloride and shift work exposures. Internal comparisons showed increased coronary artery disease mortality among long-term workers exposed to carbon disulfide and shift work for 4 years or more.
Conclusions: Excess coronary artery disease mortality confirms earlier results; further investigation is needed to understand risk factors.
Keywords: cancer; carbon disulfide; chemical manufacturing; cohort mortality; coronary artery disease; o-toluidine; shift work; vinyl chloride.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.