Environmental Sciences Laboratory Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York Academy of Sciences The City University of New York New York, New York 10029 INTRODUCTION In 1963, it was
found that a large group of asbestos insulation workers in the New York
metropolitan area had experienced unusual mortality during 1943-1962.1
Six hundred and thirty-two men had been on the union's rolls on January
1, 1943. By December 31, 1962, 262 men had died, nine before reaching
20 years on the job. Of those who died after 20 years from first employment,
lung cancer was found in marked excess; 6.02 such deaths had been expected,
and 42 occurred. In addition, there were several deaths due to pleural
or peritoneal mesothelioma and a modest increase in deaths due to, gastrointestinal
cancer, where 9.71 were expected and 29 were observed. There were 12 deaths
due to pulmonary asbestosis (TABLE 1).
It had previously
been established that lung cancer was a formidable hazard of asbestos
factory workers and that termination of employment did not abort the risk:
apparently, once sufficient exposure had occurred with continued retention
of asbestos within the lung, risk remained. This factor was of considerable
concern, because a significant number of men were known to have worked
as asbestos insulation workers in the New York metropolitan area, and
many were still in the trade. In addition to the 370 survivors of the
original 1943 cohort, 890 men had joined the insulation union † during
the period 1943-1962, and 879 of them were alive on January l, 1963. Together,
the two groups constituted a total of 1249 men who were either working
regularly as asbestos insulation workers in 1963 or who had been recorded
as having worked regularly at this trade for shorter or longer periods
in previous years.
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