MORTALITY UPDATE OF CELLULOSE FIBER PRODUCTION WORKERS

Mortality ascertainment was extended through 1990 for a cohort of 1271 workers involved in the production of cellulose triacetate fiber at a plant in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Each subject was employed for at least three months between 1 January 1954 and 1 January 1977 in jobs t hat entailed exposure to the highest concentrations of methylene chlor ide. Median exposures in 1977 ranged from 140 to 745 ppm (8-h time-wei ghted average). The observed numbers of deaths from specific causes we re compared with the expected unmers of deaths computed from rates in York County, South Carolina. For most causes of death, there was littl e if any association with employment. Among causes of particular inter est, no new deaths were observed from caner of the liver and biliary t ract, although the excess from the earlier study persisted (4 observed , 1.34 expected). No excess mortality was observed for cancer of the p ancreas (2 observed, 2.42 expected) or for ischemic heart disease (43 observed, 47.8 expected).