Lung cancer among pesticide workers exposed to inorganic arsenicals

Cancer mortality was studied in 1,393 persons exposed to high air concentrations of inorganic arsenicals for varying lengths of time during the manufacture and packaging of pesticides at a plant in Baltimore, Maryland. Employees consisting of 1,050 males and 343 females were traced for the period 1946 to 1977, and vital status was determined for 86.9% of males and 66.8% of females. The observed number of deaths from all and selected causes was compared with the number expected from the Baltimore City mortality experience in terms of the Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR). A significantly increased SMR was found for lung cancer and anemias in males. The SMR for lung cancer was especially high in males with presumed high exposure to arsenicals. A dose-response relationship was suggested by the SMR for lung cancer which increased with increasing duration of exposure to arsenicals, but no such relationship was evident for nonarsenicals. Although smoking habits could not be examined in the study subjects, the authors believe that the findings provide additional epidemiologic evidence on the respiratory carcinogenicity of occupational exposure to airborne inorganic arsenicals.