Chlorophenols have contaminated the drinking water system and the local lake in the village of Järvelä in southern Finland. Local geology, ground water streams, and chemical analyses incriminated a local sawmill as the only plausible source of exposure. Cancer incidence in the municipality of Kärkölä (half of the population lives in Järvelä), compared with the rest of the local health-care district and with the greater cancer control region, indicated an excess of soft-tissue sarcomas and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. A case-control study, which focused on cancers of the colon, bladder and soft tissues, lymphomas, and leukemia, demonstrated a significantly elevated risk ratio for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas among persons who consumed fish from the local lake, which was contaminated with chlorophenols. Probable exposure to chlorophenol-contaminated drinking water played a role in the increased incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and possibly was a factor in the development of soft-tissue sarcoma.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cancer registries in the evaluation of occupational cancer.

Cancer registry data can be utilized in many ways in studies of occupational risk factors in cancer. The different approaches available include comparison of incidence rates and trend curves, search for clusters, cross-sectional analyses of the relationship between occupation and cancer, recording of unusual sporadic associations that can serve as starting points for further investigations, follow-up (cohort) studies, and case control studies. Cancer registries exist to produce and store cancer data, which then should be linked with information on occupation or with more detailed data on exposure, to be obtained from other sources. This is the most useful way to proceed.

Humans↗