Abstract
During a recent analysis of mortality data from 14 states of the United States an increased mortality for ten of 11 similar electrical occupations was noticed. Age adjusted proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) were examined by occupation and industry to detect increased mortality risks among 426,705 white men over the age of 15 years. Mortality was determined for all leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia for white men whose usual work was in one of the 11 occupations with potential exposure to electric or magnetic fields. A summary PMR for all leukemia for the 11 occupations, computed by totaling expected and observed deaths was 119. The PMR for telephone linemen, installers, and repairmen was 347 for acute myelogenous leukemia, based on two deaths, but the lower confidence limit did not exclude the null. The PMR for photographic equipment manufacturing increased to 213, based on 11 deaths. While the exact cause of the leukemia excess is not clear, the authors suggest that the occupations which share exposures to electric and magnetic fields also may involve potential exposure to suspected leukemogenic chemicals.
