Epidemic curve of respiratory cancer due to chloromethyl ethers.

In 1962, suspicion arose that an excess of lung cancers was developing in a chemical plant. A prospective cohort study of 125 male workers was begun, and the group was followed from January 1963 to the end of 1979. A small epidemic of respiratory cancer evolved, including 14 cases of lung cancer (13 were the small cell type) and 2 cases of laryngeal cancer among 91 men exposed to chloromethyl ethers in the 17-year period, as compared to 2 cases of lung cancer among 34 unexposed men. The lung cancer epidemic peaked 15-19 years after onset of exposure and began to subside thereafter.