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Occup Environ Med 2004;61:86-88
  • Short report

Risk of fatal industrial accidents and death from other external causes among asphalt workers

  1. I Burstyn1,
  2. P Boffetta2,
  3. B Järvholm7,
  4. T Partanen3,
  5. O Svane4,
  6. S Langård6,
  7. T Kauppinen3,
  8. I Stücker9,
  9. J Shaham10,
  10. D Heederik1,
  11. W Ahrens8,
  12. I Bergdahl7,
  13. S Cenée9,
  14. M Hooiveld1,
  15. B G Randem6,
  16. C Johansen5,
  17. G Ferro2,
  18. H Kromhout1
  1. 1Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
  2. 2Unit of Environmental Cancer Epidemiology, The International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
  3. 3Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
  4. 4Danish Working Environment Service, Copenhagen, Denmark
  5. 5Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
  6. 6Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  7. 7Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umea University Hospital, Umea, Sweden
  8. 8Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine, Bremen, Germany
  9. 9INSERM U170, Villejuif, France
  10. 10National Institute of Occupational & Environmental Health, Raanana, Israel
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr P Boffetta
 Unit of Environmental Cancer Epidemiology, The International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France; boffettaiarc.fr
  • Accepted 14 February 2003

Abstract

The hypothesis that asphalt workers are at increased risk of mortality from industrial accidents and other external causes was tested. Mortality rates for external and violent causes of death in a cohort of asphalt industry employees from seven European countries and Israel were compared to that of the general population. There was no evidence that mortality from external causes was increased among long term employees in asphalt application and mixing. There was an increased risk for mortality due to external causes among short term workers. However, none of the fatal accidents among short term workers appear to have occurred during employment in the studied asphalt companies.

Overall, no evidence was found supporting the hypothesis that asphalt workers are at increased risk of fatal industrial or road accidents. Mortality from other external causes did not increase in this population as a whole, but increased risks among short term workers deserve further attention.

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