Evaluation of the association between birth defects and exposure to ambient vinyl chloride
Birth defects incidence for infants born to residents of Shawinigan, Canada in 1966-1979 were significantly higher than in three comparison communities. Since there has been a vinyl chloride polymerization plant in this town since 1943 from which ten cases of angiosarcoma of the liver have been identified, this study explores the possible association between exposure to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) in ambient air and the occurrence of birth defects in the community. The excess of birth defects fluctuated seasonally in a way that corresponded to changes in VCM concentration in the environment. Mothers who gave birth to malformed children were younger on average in Shawinigan than in the comparison communities. However, there was no excess of still-births in Shawinigan. The excess in birth defects involved most organ systems, and variation in birth-defect rates among school districts could not be accounted for by estimates of VCM in the atmosphere. The occupational and residential histories of parents who gave birth to malformed infants were compared with those of parents of normal infants. The two groups did not differ in occupational exposure or closeness of residence to the vinyl chloride polymerization plant. Some descriptive data from this study raised the hypothesis of an association between VCM in the air and birth defects in the exposed community, but as a whole, within the sample size available, such an association could not be substantiated.
- Research Organization:
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada
- OSTI ID:
- 5473335
- Journal Information:
- Teratology; (United States), Vol. 27:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
HEALTH HAZARDS
CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS
EPIDEMIOLOGY
VINYL MONOMERS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
AGE DEPENDENCE
AIR POLLUTION
CANADA
CHLORIDES
FEMALES
INFANTS
MALES
PREGNANCY
QUEBEC
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
AGE GROUPS
CHILDREN
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HAZARDS
INDUSTRY
MALFORMATIONS
MONOMERS
NORTH AMERICA
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
POLLUTION
VARIATIONS
560306* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Man- (-1987)