Cancer mortality among laundry and dry cleaning workers

A cancer mortality study of 8,163 deaths occurring among persons formerly employed as laundering and dry cleaning workers in 28 states is described. Age-adjusted sex-race cause-specific proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) and proportionate cancer mortality ratios (PCMRs) were computed for 1979 through 1990, using the corresponding 28-state mortality as the comparison. For those aged 15-64 years, there were excesses in black men for total cancer mortality (PMR = 130, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 105-159) and cancer of the esophagus 1 (PMR = 215, 95% CI = 111-376), and in white men for cancer of the larynx (PMR = 318, 95% CI = 117-693). For those aged 65 years and over, there were statistically nonsignificant excesses for cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung in black women (PMR = 128, CI = 94-170) and for cancer of other and unspecified female genital organs in white women (PMR = 225, CI = 97-443). The results of this and other studies point to the need for the effective implementation of available control measures to protect laundry and dry cleaning workers.