Mortality patterns among employees exposed to acrylonitrile.

A cohort of 2671 men, 1774 of whom were exposed to acrylonitrile, was observed from 1951 through 1983 for mortality. No statistically significant excess of all-cause or cause-specific mortality was observed. Analysis of exposure duration to acrylonitrile with respiratory cancer mortality showed no trend. Men exposed to high levels of acrylonitrile had respiratory cancer rates similar to men not exposed in the workplace and to the US general male population. These study results do not support the hypothesis that acrylonitrile is a human carcinogen.