LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP MORTALITY STUDY OF PETROLEUM REFINERY AND CHEMICAL-PLANT EMPLOYEES

A previous report presented the 1948-1983 mortality patterns of the Sh ell Deer Park Manufacturing Complex employees who were employed for at least 3 months from 1948 through 1972. The present study updates the earlier investigation by extending the vital status follow-up through 1989 and by expanding the cohort to include employees hired after 1972 . As in the previous study, the overall mortality and cancer mortality for both refinery and chemical employees were quite favorable compare d to residents in the local population. Among refinery workers, cancer s for which a suspicion of work-relatedness was raised in the previous study, i.e. leukemia and cancers of the central nervous system and bi liary passage/liver no supportive evidence was found in this update. F or both refinery and chemical plant employees, the mortality rate due to cancers of all lymphopoietic tissue increased with increasing durat ion of employment; this finding was also noted by the original study. This was also evident for lymphoreticulosarcoma in refinery employees and for leukemia in chemical plant employees. However, elevations of c ancers of all lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue are primarily confine d to employees who started work at the complex before 1946. By contras t, deaths from cancer of all lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue for em ployees hired after 1945 were 22% lower than the comparison population . Seven deaths with mesothelioma mentioned on the death certificates w ere identified with 3.2 deaths expected, resulting in a statistically nonsignificant SMR of 219. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.