Cause-specific mortality in Finnish ferrochromium and stainless steel production workers
Huvinen, Markku; Pukkala, Eero (2016)
Huvinen, Markku
Pukkala, Eero
2016
Occupational Medicine (Lond) 66 3
241-246
Terveystieteiden yksikkö - School of Health Sciences
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201611182619
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201611182619
Tiivistelmä
BACKGROUND:
Although stainless steel has been produced for more than a hundred years, exposure-related mortality data for production workers are limited.
AIMS:
To describe cause-specific mortality in Finnish ferrochromium and stainless steel workers.
METHODS:
We studied Finnish stainless steel production chain workers employed between 1967 and 2004, from chromite mining to cold rolling of stainless steel, divided into sub-cohorts by production units with specific exposure patterns. We obtained causes of death for the years 1971-2012 from Statistics Finland. We calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) as ratios of observed and expected numbers of deaths based on population mortality rates of the same region.
RESULTS:
Among 8088 workers studied, overall mortality was significantly decreased (SMR 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-0.84), largely due to low mortality from diseases of the circulatory system (SMR 0.71; 95% CI 0.61-0.81). In chromite mine, stainless steel melting shop and metallurgical laboratory workers, the SMR for circulatory disease was below 0.4 (SMR 0.33; 95% CI 0.07-0.95, SMR 0.22; 95% CI 0.05-0.65 and SMR 0.16; 95% CI 0.00-0.90, respectively). Mortality from accidents (SMR 0.84; 95% CI 0.67-1.04) and suicides (SMR 0.72; 95% CI 0.56-0.91) was also lower than in the reference population.
CONCLUSIONS:
Working in the Finnish ferrochromium and stainless steel industry appears not to be associated with increased mortality.
Although stainless steel has been produced for more than a hundred years, exposure-related mortality data for production workers are limited.
AIMS:
To describe cause-specific mortality in Finnish ferrochromium and stainless steel workers.
METHODS:
We studied Finnish stainless steel production chain workers employed between 1967 and 2004, from chromite mining to cold rolling of stainless steel, divided into sub-cohorts by production units with specific exposure patterns. We obtained causes of death for the years 1971-2012 from Statistics Finland. We calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) as ratios of observed and expected numbers of deaths based on population mortality rates of the same region.
RESULTS:
Among 8088 workers studied, overall mortality was significantly decreased (SMR 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70-0.84), largely due to low mortality from diseases of the circulatory system (SMR 0.71; 95% CI 0.61-0.81). In chromite mine, stainless steel melting shop and metallurgical laboratory workers, the SMR for circulatory disease was below 0.4 (SMR 0.33; 95% CI 0.07-0.95, SMR 0.22; 95% CI 0.05-0.65 and SMR 0.16; 95% CI 0.00-0.90, respectively). Mortality from accidents (SMR 0.84; 95% CI 0.67-1.04) and suicides (SMR 0.72; 95% CI 0.56-0.91) was also lower than in the reference population.
CONCLUSIONS:
Working in the Finnish ferrochromium and stainless steel industry appears not to be associated with increased mortality.
Kokoelmat
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