Morbidity in former sawmill workers exposed to pentachlorophenol (PCP): A cross-sectional study in New Zealand

Background From 1950 to 1990 pentachlorophenol (PCP) was used widely in the New Zealand sawmill industry, and persistent claims of long‐term health effects have been made. Methods We surveyed surviving members of a cohort enumerated to study mortality in sawmill workers employed from 1970 to 1990. E...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of industrial medicine 2009-04, Vol.52 (4), p.271-281
Main Authors: McLean, David, Eng, Amanda, Dryson, Evan, Walls, Chris, Harding, Elizabeth, Wong, Khoon Ching, Cheng, Soo, Mannetje, Andrea't, Ellison-Loschmann, Lis, Slater, Tania, Shoemack, Phil, Pearce, Neil
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drug addictions
Female
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Logistic Models
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
morbidity
Mycobacterium
New Zealand - epidemiology
Occupational Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
pentachlorophenol
Pentachlorophenol - poisoning
sawmill workers
Toxicology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background From 1950 to 1990 pentachlorophenol (PCP) was used widely in the New Zealand sawmill industry, and persistent claims of long‐term health effects have been made. Methods We surveyed surviving members of a cohort enumerated to study mortality in sawmill workers employed from 1970 to 1990. Estimates of historical exposure were based on job titles held, using the results of a PCP biomonitoring survey conducted in the 1980s. The survey involved interviews and clinical examinations, with interviewers and examiners blinded to exposure status. Results Of the 293 participants 177 had not been exposed, and of the 116 exposed all but 10% had low or short‐term PCP exposure. Nevertheless, a number of significant associations between PCP exposure and the prevalence of various symptoms were observed including associations between: (i) exposure levels and self‐reported tuberculosis, pleurisy or pneumonia (P 
ISSN:0271-3586
1097-0274
DOI:10.1002/ajim.20677