Retrospective cohort study of lung cancer and diesel exhaust exposure in railroad workers

Journal Article · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm/137.4.820· OSTI ID:6983165

Garshick, E; Schenker, M B; Munoz, A; Segal, M; Smith, T J; Woskie, S R; Hammond, S K; Speizer, F E

The risk of lung cancer as a result of exposure to diesel exhaust from railroad locomotives was assessed in a cohort of 55,407 white male railroad workers 40 to 64 yr of age in 1959 who had started railroad service 10 to 20 years earlier. The cohort was traced until the end of 1980, and death certificates were obtained for 88% of 19,396 deaths; 1694 lung cancer cases were identified. Yearly railroad job from 1959 to death or retirement was available from the Railroad Retirement Board, and served as an index of diesel exhaust exposure. Directly standardized rates and a proportional hazards model were used to calculate the relative risk of lung cancer based on work in a job with diesel exhaust exposure beginning in 1959. A relative risk of 1.45 (95% CI = 1.11, 1.89) for lung cancer was obtained in the group of workers 40 to 44 yr of age in 1959, the group with the longest possible duration of diesel exposure. The cohort was selected to minimize the effect of past railroad asbestos exposure, and analysis with workers with possible asbestos exposure excluded resulted in a similarly elevated risk. Workers with 20 yr or more elapsed since 1959, the effective start of diesel exposure for the cohort, had the highest relative risk. These results taken in conjunction with other reported results support the hypothesis that occupational exposure to diesel exhaust results in a small but significantly elevated risk for lung cancer.

• Research Organization: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6983165
• Journal Information: Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.; (United States) Vol. 137:4; ISSN ARDSB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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02 PETROLEUM
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ASBESTOS
BODY
DISEASES
ENERGY SOURCES
EXHAUST GASES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
GASOLINE
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
LIQUID FUELS
LOCOMOTIVES
LUNGS
NEOPLASMS
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANS
PERSONNEL
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RISK ASSESSMENT
TRAINS
VEHICLES
WASTES