MORTALITY IN A COHORT OF PESTICIDE APPLICATORS IN AN URBAN SETTING

The mortality of a cohort of 168 pesticide applicators employed in the disinfestation service of the city of Rome for an average of 20 years is examined. Exposure data were abstracted from work records, and cau ses of death for the 42 workers who had died, were obtained from death certificates. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for specific causes of death were computed on the basis of provincial mortality rates. An excess in mortality from cancer of the liver and bile ducts with four cases observed and 0.7 expected (SMR = 571, 95% confidence interval ( Cl) : 154-1463) was found. Increased risk for other cancers was also o bserved, but the SMR were not statistically different from unity. An i ncreased risk of liver cancer occurs in those exposed to organochlorin e pesticides between 1960 and 1965.