Mortality and Cancer Experience of Quebec Aluminum Reduction Plant Workers. Part I: The Reduction Plants and Coal Tar Pitch Volatile (CTPV) Exposure Assessment : Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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Mortality and Cancer Experience of Quebec Aluminum Reduction Plant Workers. Part I: The Reduction Plants and Coal Tar Pitch Volatile (CTPV) Exposure Assessment

Lavoué, Jérôme PhD; Gérin, Michel PhD; Côté, Jacques Ing; Lapointe, Richard PhD

Author Information

From the Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire en santé (GRIS) (Drs Lavoué and Gérin); Département de santé environnementale et santé au travail, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada; and the EH&S Primary Metal Group (Jacques Côté and Dr Lapointe), Alcan Inc, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

A long-time employee of Alcan, Jacques Côté retired during this study and was employed as a consultant by Alcan in order to finish the study. Jérôme Lavoué and Michel Gérin were remunerated by Alcan in the framework of their university department to review the exposure assessment part of Alcan’s epidemiological study.

Address correspondence to: Jérôme Lavoué, Institut universitaire romand de santé au travail (IST), Rue du bugnon 21, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland; E-mail: [email protected].

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 49(9):p 997-1008, September 2007. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181484cf3

Abstract

Objectives: 

This paper presents the exposure assessment and job-exposure matrix (JEM) used to estimate coal tar pitch volatile (CTPV) exposure for a study of mortality and cancer incidence in aluminum smelter workers in Quebec, Canada.

Methods: 

Historical CTPV exposure was assessed by estimating benzene-soluble material (BSM) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) levels for combinations of job and time period. Estimates were derived by using several procedures including averaging measurement data, a deterministic mathematical model using process-related correction factors, and expert-based extrapolation.

Results: 

The JEM comprised 28,910 jobs, covering 7 facilities from 1916 to 1999. Estimated exposures ranged from 0.01 μg/m3 to 68.08 μg/m3 (B[a]P) and 0.01 mg/m3 to 3.64 mg/m3 (BSM) and were lowest before 1940 and after 1980.

Conclusion: 

This methodology constitutes an improvement compared with methods used for previous studies of the Quebec cohort.

©2007The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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