Introduction Currently, in Russia, malignant tumours (MT) are the second leading cause of the population mortality. Long-term, regular and intense occupational contact with exogenous chemical or physical carcinogens can lead to an occupational cancer. Occupational cancer risk assessment is required.

Objectives Revealing the influence of carcinogenic factors of the working environment on the cancer mortality rate among workmen in the metallurgical shop of an enterprise for blister copper production.

Methods A retrospective epidemiological study of cancer mortality among workmen and the population living in the area where the studied copper-smelting plant is located, for 20 years (1995–2014) was carried out. Intensive rates were calculated per 100,000 (age-specific and general, age-standardized). The so-called ‘expected’ mortality was calculated, which is the mortality of the ‘other’ population, standardized by age (in the workmen was taken as the standard). The excess of the observed cancer mortality rates determined the degree of additional risk associated with work, and made it possible to roughly estimate the intensity of the influence of production carcinogenic factors. The confidence intervals were calculated at p<0.05.

Results The intensive cancer mortality rate in workmen for lung cancer was 495.87±201.94 versus 120.51±19.04 (4.1, p<0.05). Significantly higher in the 50–59 age group for all tumours: 1239.67±318.09 versus 307.3±30.38 (4.0, p<0.05). In the same group, the respiratory cancer mortality was significantly higher by 5.5 (p<0.05). The ‘expected’ cancer mortality rates in workmen had statistically significant differences in all tumour localizations are 2.3 times, and for the respiratory cancers by 4.0 times, incl. on the trachea, bronchi and lungs tumours by 3.5 times (p<0.05), as well as the ratio of observed cancer mortality rates to ‘expected’ in workmen.

Conclusion Intensive and standardized cancer mortality rates for blister copper workmen are significantly higher than control, indicating an occupational cancer hazard with the highest levels according to the highest carcinogenic load (respiratory and digestive organs).