Mesothelioma among machinists in railroad and other industries

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma among machinists in railroad and other industries, by T.F. Mancuso (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1983).

The study

• Author: T.F. Mancuso
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1983;4(4):501-13
• Cited by: 38 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000622).

Abstract

The first phase of the exploration of occupation-related cancer among machinists was a retrospective review of deaths among members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in 1973, in which mesotheliomas were identified in workers in railroad and other industries. The second phase of the study initiated in 1982 was the establishment of a cohort study of machinists, employed for railroad company A, who were alive in January 1954. The cohort consisted of 197 machinists who had been employed by the same railroad prior to 1935 and observed to 1982. Causes of death were identified for 132 of the cohort. There were 18 alive and 47 not traced. Among the 29 cancer deaths, there were nine mesotheliomas and one endothelioma of the pleura. Additional retrospective surveys of deaths among members of the railroad lodges of the international union, together with the cohort study, identified a total of 42 mesotheliomas, two endotheliomas of the pleura, and two cancers of the pleura among former railroad machinists. Among the machinists employed in other industries, 16 mesotheliomas and six cancers of the pleura were identified. For decades, machinists, by the nature of their craft, have had a high risk of occupation-related cancer due to asbestos exposure.

In plain English

This report described two phases of a study of mesothelioma among members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. In 1973 the author reviewed union death-benefit claims for 1966-1971 and found eight mesotheliomas among railroad machinists and five among machinists in other industries. In 1982 the author assembled a cohort of 197 machinists at one railroad, hired before 1935 and alive on January 1, 1954, and followed them to September 1982. Causes of death were found for 132; 18 were alive and 47 were not traced. The 29 cancer deaths included nine mesotheliomas and one endothelioma of the pleura; the mesothelioma deaths came 33 to 55 years after hire. Retired machinists described heavy dust from stripping and replacing asbestos lagging on steam locomotives, and samples from old locomotives contained chrysotile or amosite. From all sources, 42 mesotheliomas were identified among railroad machinists and 16 among machinists in other industries. The author noted the cohort count may be conservative because not all deaths were reported to the union, and concluded that machinists have long had a high risk of asbestos-related cancer.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Retrospective review of union death-benefit records (1973 and 1982), plus a cohort study of railroad machinists from one company
• Who was studied: Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (railroad and other industries). The cohort was 197 white male machinists at railroad company A, hired before 1935, alive on January 1, 1954, and followed to September 1982.
• Exposure: Asbestos dust from servicing steam locomotives (removing and applying asbestos boiler lagging) and steam cranes in railroad shops, as described by retired machinists. Six samples from old locomotives were analyzed: two were chrysotile only and four were amosite.
• Main results:
  • First phase (deaths 1966-1971): eight mesotheliomas among railroad machinists and five among machinists in other industries
  • Among the railroad cases, slides were obtained for four. Two cases recorded as adenocarcinoma were found to be mesotheliomas on histological review.
  • Of six asbestos samples from old locomotives, two were chrysotile only and four were amosite
  • Cohort of 197: cause of death identified for 132, 18 alive, 47 not traced
  • Among 29 cancer deaths in the cohort, there were nine mesotheliomas and one endothelioma of the pleura
  • In the cohort, the interval from date of hire to date of death for the mesotheliomas ranged from 33 to 55 years. The author said dates of clinical observation of the mesotheliomas were difficult to obtain.
  • All cohort members who died of mesothelioma or endothelioma of the pleura were hired 1922-1927, from the 147 hired 1920-1934
  • From all sources combined, 42 mesotheliomas were identified among railroad machinists
  • Among machinists in other industries, 16 mesotheliomas and six cancers of the pleura were identified
  • Eight cancers of the pleura in total, two of them among railroad machinists
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that machinists, by the nature of their craft, have had a high risk of occupation-related cancer from asbestos exposure for decades
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The cohort mesothelioma count may be conservative: not all deaths were reported to the union, and cancer deaths were not followed up for histological review
  • Deaths among the 47 untraced cohort members were not identified, so other cancers were not analyzed
  • Identification of deaths was limited to union death records
  • The 1954 cohort was a survivor group; many deaths had occurred before 1954
  • Dates of clinical observation (diagnosis) of the mesotheliomas were difficult to determine

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma, Railroads.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Cohort Study, Pleura, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Relative risk of mesothelioma among railroad machinists exposed to chrysotile — T.F. Mancuso (1988)
• Re: Mesothelioma in railroad machinists — A. Churg, F. Green (1990)
• Relative risk of mesothelioma among railroad machinists exposed to chrysotile — I. Higgins (1989)
• Mesotheliomas among railroad workers in the United States — T.F. Mancuso (1991)
• A case-control study of lung cancer and diesel exhaust exposure in railroad workers — E. Garshick, M.B. Schenker, et al. (1987)
• A retrospective cohort study of lung cancer and diesel exhaust exposure in railroad workers — E. Garshick, M.B. Schenker, et al. (1988)

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