Heart disease in workers exposed to dinitrotoluene.

To determine whether the carcinogenicity of dinitrotoluene (DNT) in rodent bioassays was predictive for humans, we examined the mortality experience of exposed workers at two ammunition plants. Cohorts of 156 and 301 men who had worked a month or more during the 1940s and 1950s at jobs with opportunity for substantial DNT exposure were followed through the end of 1980. Numbers of expected deaths and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed, using mortality rates of US white males as the standard. No evidence of a carcinogenic effect was found, but unsuspected excesses of mortality from ischemic heart disease were noted at both plants (SMRs) 131 and 143; 95% confidence limits 65 to 234 and 107 to 187, respectively). Deaths from ischemic heart disease remained high even when compared with expected numbers derived using mortality rates of the counties in which the plants were located. Additional analyses revealed evidence of a 15-year latent period and suggested a relationship with duration and intensity of exposure. Epidemiologic investigations of other heavily exposed populations are needed to confirm the etiologic significance of the association between DNT and heart disease described here.

Exposure of embalmers to formaldehyde and other chemicals.

Seven funeral homes were surveyed in 1980 to determine the magnitude of embalmers' exposure to formaldehyde, other chemical vapors, and total and respirable particulates. Air was monitored for formaldehyde by personal and area samples, and assayed using the chromotropic acid method. Personal sampling revealed time-weighted average formaldehyde concentrations which ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 ppm (mean 0.3 ppm) and 0.5 to 1.2 ppm (mean 0.9 ppm) during the embalming of intact and autopsied bodies, respectively. Concentrations of other airborne chemicals and of particulates were negligible. In preparing autopsied bodies, embalming technique and condition of the body itself appeared to be major determinants of formaldehyde exposure.

The effects of occupational exposure on the respiratory health of West Virginia morticians.

Standardized respiratory disease questionnaires and pulmonary function tests were administered to licensed white male morticians attending an educational program in Morgantown, W.Va. Detailed occupational histories were obtained; included were estimates of the numbers of bodies personally embalmed. The pulmonary function of morticians compared favorably with that of residential populations in Oregon and Michigan. Among morticians, relatively high exposure was not associated with chronic bronchitis or pulmonary function deficits. The results suggest that long-term intermittent exposure to low levels of formaldehyde gas exerts no meaningful chronic effect on respiratory health.

Superiority of reproductive histories to sperm counts in detecting infertility at a dibromochloropropane manufacturing plant.

Sperm count distributions among exposed and control groups at a dibromochloropropane (DBCP) manufacturing plant were remarkably similar. Yet reproductive histories from 60 exposed men obtained in conjunction with the semen analyses indicated that fertility had been reduced during exposure. Ratios of observed to expected births or standardized fertility ratios (SFRs) were computed for reproductive experience at parities of 1 or greater. The SFR for the period at risk from DBCP exposure (SFR = 0.63) was significantly lower than those derived from the entire not-at-risk period (SFR = 1.21) or the portion related to nonexposed employment at the plant preceding exposure (SFR = 1.33). Significant reductions would have been evident at least 18 years prior to the year in which the histories were obtained. The effect on fertility seems to have been greatest during the initial period of DBCP production. Most fertility reduction occurred after 3.5 years of exposure. Fertility returned to normal following cessation of exposure (SFR = 1.18), although it appeared to remain subnormal for about two years. Wherever there is concern about the potential for adverse reproductive effects in the workplace, data suitable for fertility analyses should be collected during annual medical examinations.