Mortality rates among workers exposed to dioxins in the manufacture of pentachlorophenol.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to determine if workers exposed to dioxins in pentachlorophenol (PCP) manufacturing were at increased risk of death from specific causes.

METHODS

We examined death rates among 773 workers exposed to chlorinated dioxins during PCP manufacturing from 1937 to 1980 using serum dioxin evaluations to estimate exposures to five dioxins.

RESULTS

Deaths from all causes combined, all cancers combined, lung cancer, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease were near expected levels. There were eight deaths from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (standardized mortality ratios = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.0 to 4.8). We observed no trend of increasing risk for any cause of death with increasing dioxin exposure. However, the highest rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma were found in the highest exposure group (standardized mortality ratios = 4.5, 95% CI = 1.2 to 11.5).

CONCLUSIONS

Other than possibly an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, we find no other cause of death related to the mixture of the dioxin contaminants found in PCP.