Occupational Exposure to an Oil Mist Atmosphere

Abstract

A 12-year epidemiologic study of an oil mist exposure was conducted at a metropolitan newspaper plant. Mortality patterns for 778 pressmen who were occupationally exposed, and an unexposed control group of 1,207 compositors were compared. The factors considered included age, duration of employment at the plant, study years, and cause(s) of death. For as yet unestablished reasons, significantly higher death rates were found among pressmen first employed at ≥ 40 years of age, and at ≥ 20 years of employment at this plant, as compared with compositors. No significant differences in death rates, however, were found for the groups first employed at < 40 years of age (including those who worked at this plant for ≥ 20 years), viz, 585 out of 778 pressmen (75%) and 634 out of 1,207 compositors (53%).