Altered immune status in aluminum reduction plant workers

From 1978 to 1985, B-cell lymphoma occurred in five employees of an aluminum reduction plant (expected = 0.2; Poisson distribution). As immunodeficiency is a known risk factor for B-cell lymphoma, we did a pilot study to evaluate immune function in apparently healthy plant workers. Twenty-three volunteers were selected for study from 350 workers, representing a range of experience in the potroom and with exposures to strong magnetic fields and volatilized aromatic hydrocarbons. Potroom workers had significantly higher T8 levels (mean = 1,227) than non-potroom workers (mean = 597) (p less than .05, Wilcoxon rank sums) or established normal values (median = 450). T4 levels were higher for potroom workers (mean = 1,017) than for non-potroom workers (mean = 558) or for established norms (median = 756) (p less than .10, Wilcoxon rank sums). Ten of 20 potroom workers had abnormal T4/T8 ratios (less than 0.91) due to disproportionate elevation of the T8 subpopulation. These data suggest an underlying immune alteration in the aluminum workers studied. Further study is needed to assess the implications of abnormal T-cell subsets in a worker population with high rates of lymphoma.