Increased incidence of respiratory tract cancers in people living near Portland cement plants in Korea

• Published in: International archives of occupational and environmental health 2017-11, Vol.90 (8), p.859-864
• Main Authors: Eom, Sang-Yong, Cho, Eun-Bi, Oh, Moo-Kyung, Kweon, Sun-Seog, Nam, Hae-Sung, Kim, Yong-Dae, Kim, Heon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Bronchus; Cancer; Carcinogens; Cement; Cement plants; Chromium; Confidence intervals; Construction Materials - adverse effects; Dust; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Environmental Health; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms - epidemiology; Health risk assessment; Human exposure; Humans; Incidence; Inhalation; Larynx; Lung cancer; Male; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Population studies; Portland cement; Portland cements; Rehabilitation; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Respiration; Respiratory tract; Respiratory Tract Neoplasms - epidemiology; Risk factors; Salivary gland; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Smoking; Standardization
• ISSN: 0340-0131; 1432-1246
• DOI: 10.1007/s00420-017-1244-9

Purpose Portland cement contains carcinogens such as chromium and free silica, and hence, inhalation of cement dust can cause respiratory tract cancers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether living near a cement plant increases the risk of respiratory tract cancers. Methods The study population consisted of 341,793 people, all of whom lived in administrative districts within 3-km radius of ten cement plants in Korea. The respiratory tract cancer incidence data (International Classification of Diseases, ten revision code C00-C14 and C30-C34) for 2008–2012 were obtained from regional cancer registries. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for each cancer site in the respiratory tract were calculated using an indirect standardization method. Results Compared with the general Korean population, the incidence of lung and bronchus cancer (C33–C34) was significantly higher in all subjects [SIR 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.29] and especially in the men subjects (SIR 1.47, 95% CI 1.29–1.68) in our study population. In addition, the incidence of larynx cancer in men (SIR 1.64, 95% CI 0.97–2.59) and salivary gland cancer in women (SIR 3.03, 95% CI 0.98–7.07) living near cement plants was marginally increased. Conclusions These results suggest that environmental exposure to Portland cement dust is a risk factor for respiratory tract cancers.