Excess mortality from diseases caused by occupational exposure to dusts and fumes, men aged 20–74 years,* England and Wales, 1979–2010
| 1979–1980, 1982–1990 | 1991–2000 | 2001–2010 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cause of death | Exposure | Deaths observed† | Deaths expected† | Annual excess† | Deaths observed† | Deaths expected† | Annual excess† | Deaths observed† | Deaths expected† | Annual excess† |
| Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis | Coal mine dust | 942 | 85.6 | 498 | 49.8 | 210 | 21.0 | |||
| Asbestosis | Asbestos | 281 | 25.5 | 331 | 33.1 | 407 | 40.7 | |||
| Cancer of the peritoneum | Asbestos | 178 | 94.7 | 7.6 | 168 | 93.6 | 7.4 | 173 | 100.3 | 7.3 |
| Cancer of the pleura | Asbestos | 1491 | 792.5 | 63.5 | 1495 | 836.5 | 65.8 | 1239 | 681.4 | 55.8 |
| Mesothelioma at unspecified and other sites combined | Asbestos | 3149 | 1790.3 | 135.9 | ||||||
| Silicosis | Silica dust | 163 | 14.8 | 50 | 5.0 | 39 | 3.9 | |||
| Tuberculosis | Silica dust | 88 | 60.8 | 2.5 | 42 | 24.5 | 1.7 | 23 | 15.0 | 0.8 |
| Other pneumoconiosis combined | Various | 244 | 22.2 | 98 | 9.8 | 49 | 4.9 | |||
| Byssinosis | Textile dust | 39 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.1 | |||
| Farmers’ lung disease | Spores in mouldy hay | 66 | 6.0 | 34 | 3.4 | 17 | 1.7 | |||
| Other and unspecified allergic pneumonitis | Various | 7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 8 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
| Cancer of the nose and nasal sinuses and middle ear | Leather dust, wood dust | 50 | 25.4 | 2.2 | 35 | 15.4 | 2.0 | 30 | 11.7 | 1.8 |
| Combined pneumonia (excluding bronchopneumonia) | Metal fume | 164 | 87.0 | 7.0 | 122 | 80.2 | 4.2 | 89 | 75.6 | 1.3 |
| Chronic bronchitis and emphysema | Coal mine dust, silica dust, metal fume | 7391 | 5513.8 | 170.7 | 3889 | 3041.7 | 84.7 | 2063 | 1702.6 | 36.0 |
| Asthma | Various | 156 | 122.1 | 3.1 | 142 | 93.7 | 4.8 | 44 | 34.3 | 1.0 |
| Total | 11 260 | 6697.2 | 414.8 | 6913 | 4186.7 | 272.6 | 7541 | 4413.0 | 312.8 | |
*Deaths from pneumonia in relation to metal fume are at ages 20–64 years.
†For coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, silicosis, other pneumoconiosis combined, byssinosis and farmers’ lung disease, the number of deaths observed is for all occupations combined, and was used to calculate the annual excess. For all other hazards, the numbers of deaths observed and expected are for job groups designated as being at risk (see text on methods and online Supplementary table S4), and the excess rate was based on the difference between observed and expected.