Evaluation of the mortality experience of workers exposed to the chlorinated dioxins

Abstract Mortality patterns were analyzed for the time period 1940 through 1979 of 2,189 men with potential occupational exposure to chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins. Special attention was directed toward 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and deaths due to soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hodgkins disease, liver cancer, stomach cancer, and nasal or nasopharyngeal cancer. With United States white males as the comparison population for this employee cohort, the stadardized mortality ratio for all causes of death was 91 and for total malignant neoplasms, 96. Among the malignancy categories of particular interest, none demonstrated a significant deviation from expected. Nor were any significant trends noted for any specific cause of death category when analyzed by estimated cumulative exposure.