Texaco mortality study. I. Mortality among refinery, petrochemical, and research workers
Divine, B.J.; Barron, V.; Kaplan, S.D.
Journal of Occupational Medicine. Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association 27(6): 445-447
1985
ISSN/ISBN: 0096-1736 PMID: 4020503 Document Number: 242150
The Texaco mortality study is a retrospective follow-up study of all persons who were employed for at least 5 yr in a refining, petrochemical or research facility and who worked at some time during the period 1947-1977. Of the 19,077 white men in the cohort, 14,609 were alive, 4024 were known to be dead and the vital status of the remaining 444 was unknown as of Dec. 31, 1977. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 75 for all causes was significantly low, on the basis of 5332 expected deaths. Statistically significant deficits also were seen for all major causes of death and for cancer of many sites, including lung, stomach, bladder and colon. The SMR was > 100 for 6 causes of death: pancreas cancer, brain cancer, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, other lymphatic cancer and benign neoplasms. None of these increases was statistically significant, and all SMR except that for benign neoplasms (SMR = 148) were < 119.