Mortality among workers exposed to acrylonitrile in fiber production: an update.

Abstract

The investigation updates the mortality experience through 2002 for a cohort of workers exposed to acrylonitrile (AN). Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were estimated based on two reference populations: the US population and a regional employee population. Exposure-response analyses were conducted using Cox regression models for cumulative and mean intensity exposure measures. In the cohort of 2548 workers, 839 deaths have occurred with 91 deaths due to respiratory system cancer. Most standardized mortality ratio estimates are at or near no-effects levels. Hazard ratio (HR) estimates indicate no increased mortality risk for respiratory system cancer (adjusted HR = 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.74, 1.25). In summary, no mortality outcome of a priori interest, principally respiratory system cancer, is associated with increased AN exposure among fiber production workers over five decades of follow-up.