Mortality by cause among stationary engineers and stationary firemen

Causes of death among 1,113 stationary engineers and firemen identified from union death benefit listings were analyzed to determine if there were conditions occurring with unusual frequency suggestive of exposure to hazards in the work environment. The relative frequencies of specific disease conditions in the study group were compared to the experience of the general population by the method of proportionate mortality. Deaths from cancer of the buccal cavity and pharynx and cancer of the rectum occurred twice as often as expected, each result being statistically significant at the 5% level. Lung cancer deaths were 20% higher than expected overall, and consistently excessive in each of four geographic subdivisions of the United States. Mortality from coronary heart disease was elevated in each region, particularly at ages under 55. No increase in the relative frequency of deaths from nonmalignant respiratory disease was found nor were fatal accidents more frequent than expected. Some of the findings may be important in view of potential exposure to carbon monoxide and several carcinogenic materials for these occupational groups.