Formaldehyde Plant Workers at Greater Risk of Deadly Blood Cancers, Researchers Find

People who work in chemical plants that use or produce formaldehyde are more likely to develop cancers of the blood and lymphatic system, such as myeloid leukemia, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health.

A new report from the institutes’ National Cancer Institute (NCI) found patterns of cancer in a group of former chemical plant workers. The findings, while not definitive proof of formaldehyde as a cause of cancer, do warrant further study to assess the risk of the cancers in such work settings, researchers said.

Formaldehyde is an industrial chemical commonly used as a preservative and disinfectant in many consumer products. It also is a known cancer-causing carcinogen linked to cases of nasopharyngeal cancer.

At least 2.1 million United States workers have been exposed to the chemical on the job, according to a 1995 study by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Decades of Study in Research

The NCI has for nearly 30 years studied cancer deaths reported among a group of more than 25,000 workers, all of them white men, who worked in 10 industrial plants where formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin were used in plastics and other products. All the men were employed at the plants before 1966.

Researchers have previously found that the workers exposed to high levels of formaldehyde were at increased risk of death from myeloid leukemia. The new report broadens those earlier findings to document “a statistically significant association” between deadly all forms of blood and lymphatic cancers and formaldehyde exposure, the NCI said in a news release issued on March 13, 2009.

Cancers such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and myeloid leukemia were most commonly seen in the workers, researchers said.

Higher Levels of Exposure at Greatest Risk

Plant workers who were exposed to the highest levels of formaldehyde were 37-percent more at risk of death from all forms of blood and lymphatic cancers than workers exposed to lower levels, the study said. Also, the risk of death from myeloid leukemia was 78 percent higher among workers who were exposed to the highest formaldehyde levels.

In addition to workers at formaldehyde plants, pathologists, embalmers, and other professionals who are exposed to elevated levels of formaldehyde also are at increased risk of the cancers, the researchers said.

The new NCI study is the first to report a statistically significant association between a chemical exposure and increased risk of death from Hodgkin lymphoma, officials said.

No related posts.