Cancer incidence among European man-made vitreous fiber production workers

Objectives This study analyzed cancer incidence among man-made vitreous fib er workers. Methods A cancer incidence follow-up was conducted among 3685 rock-slag woo l (RSW) and 2611 glass wool (GW) production workers employed for greater th an or equal to 1 year in Denmark, Finland, Norway, or Sweden, and the stand ardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated on the basis of national inc idence rates. Results Overall cancer incidence was close to expectation. Lung cancer inci dence was increased among the RSW [SIR 1.08, 95% confidence interval (95% C I) 0.85-1.36] and GW (SIR 1.28, 95% CI 0.91-1.74) workers. For both subcoho rts, a trend was suggested for time since first employment (P-value for lin ear trend 0.1 and 0.2, respectively). Neither subcohort showed an associati on with employment during the early technological phase, when fiber exposur e was high. The incidence of oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cancer was inc reased among the RSW (SIR 1.46, 95% CI 0.99-2.07) and the GW (SIR 1.41, 95% CI 0.80-2.28) subcohorts. Despite a trend in risk for these neoplasms amon g the GW workers with time since first employment, the lack of a positive r elation with other indirect indicators of fiber exposure points against a c ausal interpretation. No association between RSW or GW exposure and the ris k of other neoplasms was suggested. Conclusions These lung cancer results are similar to those of a mortality s tudy that included a larger number of factories. For other cancers there wa s no suggestion of an association with RSW or GW exposure.