Brown L M, Pottern L M, Blot W J
Environ Res. 1984 Aug;34(2):250-61. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(84)90093-8.
A case-control study of residents who lived in the vicinity of a primary zinc smelter and a large steel manufacturing plant in eastern Pennsylvania was undertaken to investigate the role of environmental pollutants in the etiology of lung cancer. Lifetime residential, occupational, and smoking histories were obtained from the next of kin of 335 white male lung cancer cases and 332 white male controls. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for content in ppm of arsenic, copper, lead, manganese, zinc, and cadmium. Relative risks were determined according to distance of residence from the zinc smelter and the steel plant, and according to residence in areas with heavy and light levels of various pollutants. Two-fold risks for lung cancer were associated with residence near the zinc smelter and with residence in areas with heavy levels of arsenic and cadmium, although the number of individuals living in these higher risk areas was small. These increases were not explained by the effects of cigarette smoking or by employment in the zinc or steel industry. No excess risk was associated with living near the steel plant. The limited size of the study precludes causal interpretation, but the findings suggest the need for further investigation of metallic air pollution and lung cancer.
在宾夕法尼亚州东部的一家初级锌冶炼厂和一家大型钢铁制造厂附近居住的居民中开展了一项病例对照研究，以调查环境污染物在肺癌病因学中的作用。从335例白人男性肺癌病例和332例白人男性对照的近亲那里获取了终生居住、职业和吸烟史。采集土壤样本并分析其中砷、铜、铅、锰、锌和镉的含量（以ppm计）。根据距锌冶炼厂和钢铁厂的居住距离以及在各种污染物含量高和低的地区居住情况确定相对风险。肺癌的两倍风险与锌冶炼厂附近居住以及在砷和镉含量高的地区居住有关，尽管生活在这些高风险地区的人数较少。这些增加不能用吸烟的影响或在锌或钢铁行业就业来解释。居住在钢铁厂附近未发现额外风险。该研究规模有限，无法进行因果解释，但研究结果表明需要进一步调查金属空气污染与肺癌之间的关系。
