Summary characteristics of talc exposed populations in talc producing companies
| Study | Cohort definition | Talc exposure | Other | Smoking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selevan et al, talc miners4 | All male talc miners radiographed in annual surveys of workers in dusty trade in Vermont (US), from five companies with at least one year employment between 1940 and 1969, followed up from 1940–75 | No information Levels >20 mppcf not uncommon | Radon (up to 1.2 WL = 240 pCi/l), possibly tremolite | No information |
| Selevan et al, talc millers4 | All male talc millers radiographed in annual surveys of workers in dusty trade in Vermont (US), from five companies with at least one year employment between 1940 and 1969, followed up from 1940–75 | No information Levels >20 mppcf not uncommon | None, quartz <0.25% | No information |
| Wergeland et al, talc miners15 | All male employees from a Norwegian mine with at least one year employment between 1944 and 1972 followed up from 1953–87 | In 1980: 0.94–97.35 mg/m3 peak at 319 mg/m3 0.2–0.9 f/ml | 3.5 pCi/l radon | 76% smokers in 1981 |
| Wergeland et al, talc millers15 | All male employees from a Norwegian talc mill with at least two years employment between 1935 and 1972 followed up from 1953–87 | In 1980: 1.4–54.1 mg/m3 peak at 109 mg/m3 0.2–0.9 f/ml | None | No information |
| Wild et al, French talc millers21 | All male employees from a French talc mill (site A) with at least one year employment between 1945 and 1994 followed up from 1968–95 | >30 mg/m3 in production until the 1970s, 5–30 mg/m3 until 1990, <5 mg/m3 since except some dusty jobs | None, quartz <3%. Some workers had past quartz exposure in former jobs | 59% present smokers in 1989; 39% in a French population survey in 1986 |
| Wild et al, Austrian talc millers and miners21 | All male workers of an Austrian talc producing company having been employed at least one year in three mines (site B to D) and mills or in the head office (site E) between 1972 and 1995 followed up from 1972–95. | >30 mg/m3 in sites B and C before 1960 and for millers in D 1970–80, 5–30 for millers 1960–80, <5 since 1980 | Quartz (and no talc) in site D and in miners of site B until 1960 Elsewhere quartz <3% | 42% smokers in 1988; 16% ex-smokers in site B |
| Coggiola et al, Italian talc miners22 | All male employees from Italian talc mine with at least one year employment between 1946 and 1995 followed up from 1946–95 | Decreased from more than 200 mppcf in 1950 to less than 5 mppcf in 1965 (Rubino 1979) | High quartz in the past. Radon in 1992, 500 Bq/m3 = 13.5 pCi/l | 47% smokers in 1993; 34% in an adult Italian population survey in 1994 |
| Coggiola et al, Italian talc millers22 | All male employees from Italian talc mill with at least one year employment between 1946 and 1995 followed up from 1946–95 | Decreased from about 20 mppcf until 1960 to about 5 mppcf in 1975 (Rubino 1979). In 1993 1.3 mg/m3 (personal communication) | None Quartz <1% | 44% smokers in 1993; 34% in an adult Italian population survey in 1994 |