Estimated risk of lung cancer attributable to occupational exposures in iron and steel foundries.

Elevated risks of lung cancer have been observed in foundry workers in a number of studies. When the levels of exposure were compared with other industries, the most probable causes of the lung cancer excess were polynuclear aromatic compounds (PACs) and silica in iron foundries and PACs, silica, as well as chromium and nickel fumes in steel foundries.