Health hazard evaluation report: HETA-81-011-1009, San Carlos Reservation, Globe, Arizona.
Source
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 81-011-1009, 1981 Dec; :1-5
Abstract
A proportional mortality study (PMR) and a cross sectional medical survey were conducted among chrysotile-asbestos (12001295) miners and millers at the San Carlos Reservation in Globe, Arizona, during March 1970, to determine if a health hazard from asbestos exposure existed for these workers. The evaluation was requested by the Arizona Department of Health Services on behalf of an unspecified number of workers. The PMR revealed that 18 of the 44 deaths in miners and millers were from alcohol related diseases, while none of the deaths were from lung cancer. A low response rate among workers for the cross sectional medical survey obviated completion of the medical survey. The author concludes that the absence of asbestos related morbidity should not be taken as evidence against the hazard of chrysotile asbestos but may reflect the small size of the study, the inadequate latency between exposure and follow up, and the effects of alcohol. He recommends that the Arizona Center for Occupational Safety and Health continue the medical survey with the workers who did agree to participate, medical monitoring for those workers who did not agree to participate in the study, and attention to the problem of alcohol abuse among the workers.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; HETA-81-011-1009; NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation; Hazards-Unconfirmed; Region-9; Asbestos-workers; Mortality-rates; Health-surveys; NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report;
Author Keywords: American Indians; Chrysotile Asbestos; Alcohol Abuse; Proportional Mortality Study
Document Type
Field Studies; Hazard Evaluation and Technical Assistance
NTIS Accession No.
PB82-182544
Identifying No.
HETA-81-011-1009
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
