Occupational cancer in the black population: the health effects of job discrimination

Our plain-English summary of Occupational cancer in the black population: the health effects of job discrimination, by D. Michaels (Journal of the National Medical Association, 1983).

The study

• Author: D. Michaels
• Journal: Journal of the National Medical Association
• Published: 1983;75(10):1014-8
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001729).

Abstract

Cancer mortality rates among black workers employed in several United States industries are higher than those of their white co-workers and of the national black population. As a result of discriminatory employment patterns, blacks are disproportionately employed in "high-hazard" jobs, where they are exposed to carcinogens and other disease-producing substances. The elevated cancer mortality rates in black workers in these industries are a direct consequence of discriminatory employment patterns. The implications of these findings for physician practice, research, and national regulatory policy are discussed.

In plain English

This article was a review, not a new study. The author brought together earlier research and statistics on cancer among black workers in United States industries. Citing published steelworker studies, the author reported that blacks made up over 70 percent of full-time topside coke-oven employees. Black coke-plant workers had a standardized mortality ratio for lung cancer three times greater than whites in the same plants. In a cited rubber industry study of Akron plants, 27 percent of black workers and 3 percent of white workers worked in mixing and compounding. Those black workers had almost twice the lung and prostate cancer rates of whites in that area. The article stated that blacks made up 38 percent of the World War II shipyard workforce, where asbestos exposure was widespread. Citing other work, it stated that perhaps half of all shipyard workers will die of asbestos-related diseases. The author concluded that the elevated cancer death rates in these black workers were a direct consequence of discriminatory employment patterns. The author also noted that blacks are often left out of occupational studies.

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: Narrative review and commentary summarizing earlier studies and statistics; the article reports no original data
• Who was studied: Black workers in several United States industries (steel, rubber, foundries, shipyards, and others), as described in earlier studies and statistics
• Exposure: Occupational carcinogens in jobs disproportionately held by black workers: coke-oven emissions in steel mills, rubber mixing and compounding, foundry carcinogens including asbestos, and asbestos in shipyards
• Main results:
  • From cited steelworker studies: blacks made up over 70 percent of full-time topside coke-oven employees, although only 35 percent of all coke-plant workers in the study were nonwhite
  • From cited steelworker studies: black coke-plant workers had a standardized mortality ratio for lung cancer three times greater than whites employed in the same plants
  • From cited county data, 1950 to 1969: the lung cancer death rate of nonwhite males in Allegheny County was 55.7, 28 percent higher than the white male rate of 43.3
  • From a cited rubber industry study: in the Akron plants, 3 percent of white workers and 27 percent of black workers were employed in mixing and compounding. Those black workers had almost twice the lung and prostate cancer rates of whites in the same area
  • From a cited National Cancer Institute proportionate mortality analysis: all foundry workers had significantly increased risk of dying from lung cancer and nonmalignant respiratory disease, and black foundry workers were at greater risk than white foundry workers
  • Shipyards: blacks made up 38 percent of the World War II shipyard workforce and currently 23 percent. Citing other work, the article stated that perhaps half of all shipyard workers will die of asbestos-related diseases, most of them of cancer
  • The author suggested that a significant portion of the marked rise in the age-specific lung cancer mortality rate of black males is likely attributable to wartime shipyard employment and other hazardous industries
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the elevated cancer mortality rates in black workers in these industries are a direct consequence of discriminatory employment patterns. The author called for physicians to take work histories, for more research on minority workers, for a strengthened OSHA with strict standards, and for affirmative action programs
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author noted that black workers are often excluded from occupational epidemiologic studies because they are too few to be analyzed separately
  • The author noted that the national figures on job-related death and disability cover only recognized occupational injuries and illnesses, so they probably miss much chronic disease
  • The author noted that the Allegheny County cancer statistics probably also reflect nonoccupational environmental exposures

Related studies

• Lung cancer risk and workplace exposures in black men and women — J.E. Muscat, S.D. Stellman, et al. (1998)
• Psychosocial responses associated with perceived risk of cancer in an African-American community — G.B. Gerbi, T. Habtemariam, et al. (2011)
• Lung cancer, tobacco, and environmental factors in the African population of the Northern Province, South Africa — O. Mzileni, F. Sitas, et al. (1999)
• Response to qualms about medical screening as a discriminatory tool — F.M. Kogan, E.V. Polzik (1991)
• Use of asbestos, health risks and induced occupational diseases in the former East Germany — W. Sturm, B. Menze, et al. (1994)
• A survey of occupational cancer in the rubber and cablemaking industries: results of five-year analysis, 1967-71 — A.J. Fox, D.C. Lindars, et al. (1974)

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