Cancer mortality study of employees at lead battery plants and lead smelters, 1947-1995

Abstract

A significant mortality increase from stomach cancer was found. However, based on the analyses in the cohort study and the nested case-control study, the increase did not appear to be related to lead exposure. A small, but statistically significant mortality increase from lung cancer was also observed. The small increase, in the absence of an exposure-response relationship, could be the result of confounding due to smoking, and was not likely causally related to lead exposure. Although the significant increase in cancer of the thyroid and other endocrine glands appeared to be consistent with an occupational interpretation, the small number of deaths (8), the lack of information on potential confounding factors, and the lack of reporting of a similar increase in other studies underscore the need to view this finding with caution. No increased mortality was found for kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the central nervous system, or lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer.