US EPA

3646592 

Journal Article 

Mesothelioma in Shipyard Workers 

Hinds, MW 

1978 

1 

Western Journal of Medicine
ISSN: 0093-0415 

NIOSH/00193025 

128 

2 

169-170 

The expected excess of mesothelioma in shipyard workers in the Puget Sound area of Washington was calculated using vital statistics documents. Death certificates for 1968 through 1976, identifying mesothelioma as the cause of death, were scanned for age and occupation. Two referent cases were selected from certificates posted with dates of death later than each case, and matched on sex, 10 year age group, county of residence, and diagnosis. A total of 40 male cases (mean age, 66.2+/-10.8 years) and 12 female cases (mean age, 60.5+/-14.5 years) were identified. Of the male cases, 30.3 percent were employees of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), compared with only 7.6 percent of the residence county matched referents, a significant difference. Similar significant mesothelioma excess incidence attributable to shipyard employment was found in a county by county analysis. Occupational analysis of mesotheliomas in PSNS employees demonstrated a wide range of occupations, possibly due to significant indirect asbestos (1332214) exposures during and after World War-II, although occupational data from the death certificates did not detail lifetime work history. The author concludes that these data document a relationship between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma in shipyard workers. 

DCN-188444; Asbestos workers; Cancer rates; Carcinogens; Epidemiology; Mortality rates; Occupational exposure; Shipyard workers; 1332-21-4