Long-term mortality profile of heavily-exposed lead smelter workers.

Of 241 male smelter workers diagnosed as having lead poisoning during 1928 to 1959, 140 are known to have subsequently died. Their cause-of-death profile has been compared with that of 695 other male decedents (predominantly nonoffice production workers) from the same smelter and with that of the Australian male population. Age-standardized proportional mortality analysis shows a substantial excess in the numbers of deaths from chronic renal disease and cerebral hemorrhage, particularly prior to 1965. A moderate excess was also apparent for the other smelter workers. In recent years, these mortality excesses in lead-exposed workers have largely dissipated.