Skip to main content
PMC home page
Occupational and Environmental Medicine logoLink to Occupational and Environmental Medicine
. 1996 Nov;53(11):773–781. doi: 10.1136/oem.53.11.773

Lymphohaematopoietic malignancies and quantitative estimates of exposure to benzene in Canadian petroleum distribution workers.

A R Schnatter 1, T W Armstrong 1, M J Nicolich 1, F S Thompson 1, A M Katz 1, W W Huebner 1, E D Pearlman 1
PMCID: PMC1128597  PMID: 9038803

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between mortality from lymphohaematopoietic cancer and long term, low level exposures to benzene among male petroleum distribution workers. METHODS: This nested case control study identified all fatal cases of lymphohaematopoietic cancer among a previously studied cohort. Of the 29 cases, 14 had leukaemia, seven multiple myeloma, and eight non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A four to one matching ratio was used to select a stratified sample of controls from the same cohort, controlling for year of birth and time at risk. Industrial hygienists estimated workplace exposures for benzene and total hydrocarbons, without knowledge of case or control status, for combinations of job, location, and era represented in all work histories. Average daily benzene concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 6.2 parts per million (ppm) for all jobs. Company medical records were used to abstract information on other potential confounders such as cigarette smoking, although the data were incomplete. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated with conditional logistic regression techniques for several exposure variables. RESULTS: Risks of leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and multiple myeloma were not associated with increasing cumulative exposure to benzene or total hydrocarbons. For leukaemia, the logistic regression model predicted an OR of 1.002 (P < 0.77) for each ppm-y of exposure to benzene. Duration of exposure to benzene was more closely associated with risk of leukaemia than other exposure variables. It was not possible to completely control for other risk factors, although there was suggestive evidence that smoking and a family history of cancer may have played a part in the risk of leukaemia. CONCLUSION: This study did not show a relation between lymphohaematopoietic cancer and long term, low level exposures to benzene. The power of the study to detect low-such as twofold-risks was limited. Thus, further study on exposures to benzene in this concentration range are warranted.

Full text

PDF
778

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aksoy M. Benzene as a leukemogenic and carcinogenic agent. Am J Ind Med. 1985;8(1):9–20. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700080103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aksoy M., Erdem S., DinCol G. Leukemia in shoe-workers exposed chronically to benzene. Blood. 1974 Dec;44(6):837–841. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Armstrong T. W., Pearlman E. D., Schnatter A. R., Bowes S. M., 3rd, Murray N., Nicolich M. J. Retrospective benzene and total hydrocarbon exposure assessment for a petroleum marketing and distribution worker epidemiology study. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1996 Apr;57(4):333–343. doi: 10.1080/15428119691014864. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Austin H., Delzell E., Cole P. Benzene and leukemia. A review of the literature and a risk assessment. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Mar;127(3):419–439. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114820. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bond G. G., McLaren E. A., Baldwin C. L., Cook R. R. An update of mortality among chemical workers exposed to benzene. Br J Ind Med. 1986 Oct;43(10):685–691. doi: 10.1136/oem.43.10.685. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bourguet C. C., Grufferman S., Delzell E., DeLong E. R., Cohen H. J. Multiple myeloma and family history of cancer. A case-control study. Cancer. 1985 Oct 15;56(8):2133–2139. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19851015)56:8<2133::aid-cncr2820560842>3.0.co;2-f. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brett S. M., Rodricks J. V., Chinchilli V. M. Review and update of leukemia risk potentially associated with occupational exposure to benzene. Environ Health Perspect. 1989 Jul;82:267–281. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8982267. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brown L. M., Everett G. D., Gibson R., Burmeister L. F., Schuman L. M., Blair A. Smoking and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Cancer Causes Control. 1992 Jan;3(1):49–55. doi: 10.1007/BF00051912. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Checkoway H., Pearce N., Hickey J. L., Dement J. M. Latency analysis in occupational epidemiology. Arch Environ Health. 1990 Mar-Apr;45(2):95–100. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1990.9935932. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Christie D., Robinson K., Gordon I., Bisby J. A prospective study in the Australian petroleum industry. I. Mortality. Br J Ind Med. 1991 Aug;48(8):507–510. doi: 10.1136/oem.48.8.507. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Crump K. S. Risk of benzene-induced leukemia: a sensitivity analysis of the pliofilm cohort with additional follow-up and new exposure estimates. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1994 Jun;42(2):219–242. doi: 10.1080/15287399409531875. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Decouflé P., Blattner W. A., Blair A. Mortality among chemical workers exposed to benzene and other agents. Environ Res. 1983 Feb;30(1):16–25. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(83)90161-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Franceschi S., Serraino D., Bidoli E., Talamini R., Tirelli U., Carbone A., La Vecchia C. The epidemiology of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the north-east of Italy: a hospital-based case-control study. Leuk Res. 1989;13(6):465–472. doi: 10.1016/0145-2126(89)90168-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Herrinton L. J., Koepsell T. D., Weiss N. S. Smoking and multiple myeloma. Cancer Causes Control. 1992 Jul;3(4):391–392. doi: 10.1007/BF00146895. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Infante P. F., Rinsky R. A., Wagoner J. K., Young R. J. Leukaemia in benzene workers. Lancet. 1977 Jul 9;2(8028):76–78. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)90074-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kinlen L. J., Rogot E. Leukaemia and smoking habits among United States veterans. BMJ. 1988 Sep 10;297(6649):657–659. doi: 10.1136/bmj.297.6649.657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Linet M. S., McLaughlin J. K., Hsing A. W., Wacholder S., Co Chien H. T., Schuman L. M., Bjelke E., Blot W. J. Is cigarette smoking a risk factor for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or multiple myeloma? Results from the Lutheran Brotherhood Cohort Study. Leuk Res. 1992 Jun-Jul;16(6-7):621–624. doi: 10.1016/0145-2126(92)90011-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Linet M. S., McLaughlin J. K., Hsing A. W., Wacholder S., Co-Chien H. T., Schuman L. M., Bjelke E., Blot W. J. Cigarette smoking and leukemia: results from the Lutheran Brotherhood Cohort Study. Cancer Causes Control. 1991 Nov;2(6):413–417. doi: 10.1007/BF00054302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. MANTEL N., HAENSZEL W. Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from retrospective studies of disease. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1959 Apr;22(4):719–748. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Mills P. K., Newell G. R., Beeson W. L., Fraser G. E., Phillips R. L. History of cigarette smoking and risk of leukemia and myeloma: results from the Adventist health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1990 Dec 5;82(23):1832–1836. doi: 10.1093/jnci/82.23.1832. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Paxton M. B., Chinchilli V. M., Brett S. M., Rodricks J. V. Leukemia risk associated with benzene exposure in the pliofilm cohort. II. Risk estimates. Risk Anal. 1994 Apr;14(2):155–161. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00040.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Paxton M. B., Chinchilli V. M., Brett S. M., Rodricks J. V. Leukemia risk associated with benzene exposure in the pliofilm cohort: I. Mortality update and exposure distribution. Risk Anal. 1994 Apr;14(2):147–154. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00039.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Persson B., Fredriksson M., Olsen K., Boeryd B., Axelson O. Some occupational exposures as risk factors for malignant lymphomas. Cancer. 1993 Sep 1;72(5):1773–1778. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19930901)72:5<1773::aid-cncr2820720542>3.0.co;2-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Rinsky R. A., Smith A. B., Hornung R., Filloon T. G., Young R. J., Okun A. H., Landrigan P. J. Benzene and leukemia. An epidemiologic risk assessment. N Engl J Med. 1987 Apr 23;316(17):1044–1050. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198704233161702. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Rushton L. Further follow up of mortality in a United Kingdom oil distribution centre cohort. Br J Ind Med. 1993 Jun;50(6):561–569. doi: 10.1136/oem.50.6.561. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Schnatter A. R., Katz A. M., Nicolich M. J., Thériault G. A retrospective mortality study among Canadian petroleum marketing and distribution workers. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Dec;101 (Suppl 6):85–99. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101s685. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Schnatter A. R., Thériault G., Katz A. M., Thompson F. S., Donaleski D., Murray N. A retrospective mortality study within operating segments of a petroleum company. Am J Ind Med. 1992;22(2):209–229. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700220207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Siegel M. Smoking and leukemia: evaluation of a causal hypothesis. Am J Epidemiol. 1993 Jul 1;138(1):1–9. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116772. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Swaen G. M., Meijers J. M. Risk assessment of leukaemia and occupational exposure to benzene. Br J Ind Med. 1989 Dec;46(12):826–830. doi: 10.1136/oem.46.12.826. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Tajima K. The 4th nation-wide study of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) in Japan: estimates of risk of ATL and its geographical and clinical features. The T- and B-cell Malignancy Study Group. Int J Cancer. 1990 Feb 15;45(2):237–243. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910450206. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. VIGLIANI E. C., SAITA G. BENZENE AND LEUKEMIA. N Engl J Med. 1964 Oct 22;271:872–876. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196410222711703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Vigliani E. C. Leukemia associated with benzene exposure. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;271:143–151. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb23103.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Wartenberg D., Northridge M. Defining exposure in case-control studies: a new approach. Am J Epidemiol. 1991 May 15;133(10):1058–1071. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115815. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Wong O. An industry wide mortality study of chemical workers occupationally exposed to benzene. II. Dose response analyses. Br J Ind Med. 1987 Jun;44(6):382–395. doi: 10.1136/oem.44.6.382. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Wong O., Harris F., Smith T. J. Health effects of gasoline exposure. II. Mortality patterns of distribution workers in the United States. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Dec;101 (Suppl 6):63–76. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101s663. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Occupational and Environmental Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES