Abstract

Long term mortality was studied in a group of 57 chromate pigment workers who suffered clinical lead poisoning, mostly between 1930 and 1945. One death was attributed to lead poisoning and there were significant excesses of deaths from nephritis (observed/expected 3/0.24) and cerebrovascular disease (9/2.20), as well as non-significant excesses for respiratory diseases (7/3.59) and accidents and violence (3/1.13). The deaths from nephritis followed long spells of service exceeding 10 years. Poisoning appeared to have more adverse long term effects on older workers: 15 men aged 40 or over at the time of acute poisoning experienced generally high mortality, and 30 years later or by the end of 1981 only two survived instead of the seven expected. The risk of cerebrovascular disease appeared to be unrelated to duration of exposure and affected even men employed for under one year. Excluding the 57 lead poisoned men, other contemporary workers at the factories showed no excess mortality from cerebrovascular disease.