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Mortalities of workers at the Nitro plant with exposure to 2-mercaptobenzothialzole

J J Collins1, M E Strauss, S G Riordan

  • 1j.collins@Solutia.com

Occupational and Environmental Medicine
|February 5, 2000
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

This study found that 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) exposure did not increase lung or prostate cancer risk. However, bladder cancer risk was elevated in workers with 4-aminobiphenyl (PAB) exposure, confounding MBT

Area of Science:

  • Occupational health
  • Chemical toxicology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Previous studies indicated potential links between 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) exposure and increased risks of lung, prostate, and bladder cancers.
  • Workers at a rubber chemicals plant were exposed to MBT and potentially to 4-aminobiphenyl (PAB), a known bladder carcinogen.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To update a cohort mortality study of workers exposed to MBT.
  • To investigate cancer risks, specifically lung, prostate, and bladder cancers, associated with MBT exposure.
  • To assess the impact of potential co-exposure to PAB.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort mortality study of 1059 male production workers from 1955-1977.
  • Detailed exposure assessment for 600 workers with MBT exposure.
  • Nine additional years of follow-up data were incorporated.

Main Results:

  • No increased risk of lung (SMR = 1.0) or prostate cancer (SMR = 0.9) was observed in MBT-exposed workers.
  • A significant excess of bladder cancer was found in MBT workers with definite (SMR = 27.1) and potential (SMR = 4.3) PAB exposure.
  • No bladder cancer deaths occurred in MBT workers with no PAB exposure (SMR = 0.0).

Conclusions:

  • Exposure to MBT alone does not appear to elevate the risk of lung or prostate cancer.
  • The risk of bladder cancer in MBT-exposed workers cannot be definitively evaluated due to confounding PAB exposure.
  • Further research is needed to isolate the specific risks associated with MBT exposure without PAB co-exposure.

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