Mortality among three refinery/petrochemical plant cohorts. II. Retirees

This study update mortality data for 6238 retirees from three refinery/petr ochemical plants. Almost 90% of the cohort was deceased. Deaths from all ca uses (standardized mortality ratio, 109; 955 confidence interval, 102 to 11 6) were elevated. Increased deaths due to kidney cancer, mesothelioma, and the category of other lymphohemopoietic cancers also were observed. The rat e of leukemia was not increased. There was little internal or external cons istency to support an occupational relationship for kidney cancer, but find ings for mesothelioma and other lymphohemopoietic cancers are consistent wi th reports for other petroleum cohorts. Analyses by age indicated significa ntly higher all-cause mortality rates among persons retiring before age 65. The results suggest that continued surveillance of mesothelioma and lympho hemopoietic cancer malignancies in younger workers with more contemporary e xposures may be warranted. Furthermore, age at retirement should be conside red when analyzing occupational cohorts.