COHORT STUDY ON CANCER MORTALITY AMONG WORKERS IN THE PULP AND PAPER-INDUSTRY IN CATALONIA, SPAIN

We examined mortality in a retrospective follow-up study of 3,241 work ers employed between 1970-1992, in four pulp and paper mills in Catalo nia, Spain. Vital status was determined for 95% of the cohort. Exposur e was reconstructed using job histories and a company exposure questio nnaire. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were derived using mortali ty rates of Spain as the reference. For all workers, mortality from al l causes (SMR = 76; 95%; confidence intervals [CI] = 65-88; 189 deaths ) and all malignant neoplasms (SMR = 93; CI = 72-119; 65 deaths) were less than the expected. Excess risk was observed for mortality from al l neoplasms in females (SMR = 168; CI = 84-303; 11 deaths), for large intestine cancer in both sexes (SMR = 250; CI = 115-525; 8 deaths), pa rticularly after 10 years of employment and latency (SMR = 355; CI = 1 54-701; 8 deaths), and for breast cancer in females (SMR = 286; CI = 7 7-732; 4 deaths). These findings suggest that workers employed in the pulp and paper industry may have an excess risk of specific cancers. ( C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.