The mortality of cadmium workers.

In a study of the mortality of workers exposed to cadmium, a cohort of 6995 men born before 1940 and exposed to cadmium for more than one year between 1942 and 1970 was followed up until the end of 1979. Expected numbers of deaths were calculated with the method of person-years at risk. In all, 1902 men aged under 85 had died, compared with 1968 expected. In contrast to the findings of some other studies, no excess of deaths due to prostatic cancer, cerebrovascular disease, or renal disease was observed. There were marginally more deaths from lung cancer than expected, but this excess was not related to exposure levels. A statistically significant excess of deaths due to bronchitis showed a strong relation to duration and intensity of exposure, being predominantly in the small group of men with heavy past exposure to cadmium.