Lymphohaematopoietic malignancy around all industrial complexes that include major oil refineries in Great Britain

Objectives-To examine the incidence of lymphohaematopoietic malignancy arou nd industrial complexes that include major oil refineries in Great Britain after recent public and scientific concern of possible carcinogenic hazards of emissions from the petrochemical industry. Methods-Small area study of the incidence of lymphohaematopoietic malignanc ies, 1974-91, within 7.5 km of all 11 oil refineries (grouped into seven si tes) in Great Britain that were operational by the early 1970s and processe d more than two million tonnes of crude oil in 1993. Results-Combined analysis of data from all seven sites showed no significan t (p<0.05) increase in risk of these malignancies within 2 km or 7.5 km. Ho dgkin's lymphoma, but no other malignancy, showed evidence (p=0.02) of a de cline in risk with distance from refineries, but there was an apparent defi cit of cases of multiple myeloma near the refineries (p=0.04). Conclusion-There was no evidence of association between residence near oil refineries and leukaemias, or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A weak positive assoc iation was found between risk of Hodgkin's disease and proximity to major p etrochemical industry, and a negative association with multiple myeloma, wh ich may be chance findings within the context of multiple statistical testi ng.