Proportional mortality among vinyl chloride workers.

In a proportional mortality analysis of 161 deceased workers in two plants processing or producing vinyl chloride, a 50% excess of deaths due to all cancer was seen. Specific sites of cancer with the greatest excess included liver and biliary tract, lung and brain. The excess in fatal cancer was seen mainly in men who died before age 60. Also, there was a trend in time in the ratio of observed to expected deaths: since 1970 over twice as many cancer deaths as expected have occurred.