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J M Ramlow

Publications and source records attributed to J M Ramlow.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Mortality from pancreatic and lymphopoietic cancer among workers in ethylene and propylene chlorohydrin production.

OBJECTIVES: A previous study reported a fivefold increase in mortality from pancreatic cancer and a threefold increase in lymphopoietic and haematopoietic cancer among 278 men who were assigned to a now dismantled Union Carbide chlorohydrin unit in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia. There were also significant trends with duration of employment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a comparable increased risk in mortality from pancreatic cancer and lymphopoietic and haematopoietic cancer occurred among male employees assigned to the Dow Chemical Company's ethylene and propylene chlorohydrin production processes. METHODS: The cohort consisted of 1361 male employees who worked at the company's Freeport, Texas, Plaquemine, Louisiana or Midland, Michigan plants. Subjects were considered to have had a minimum of 30 days of workplace experience in 1940-92, in the ethylene chlorohydrin and propylene chlorohydrin process areas. These process areas were located within the ethylene oxide and propylene oxide production plants. A total of 300 deaths was observed to 31 December 1992. RESULTS: The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) for all malignant neoplasms was 94 (95% CI 74 to 118). There was one pancreatic cancer death compared with 4.0 expected (SMR 25, 95% CI 1 to 140). There were 10 lymphopoietic and haematopoietic cancer deaths compared with 7.7 expected (SMR 129, 95% CI 62 to 238). Additional analyses, which examined location, production process, duration of employment, and a 25 year induction latency period, were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide some assurance that the Dow Chemical cohort, to date, has not experienced increased risks of pancreatic cancer and lymphopoietic and haematopoietic cancer as previously reported in a different cohort of chlorohydrin workers. Possible reasons are discussed for the inconsistent findings between the two cohorts.

Chlorohydrins↗
PubMed1996

Mortality in a cohort of pentachlorophenol manufacturing workers, 1940-1989.

Mortality in a cohort of 770 workers with potential pentachlorophenol (PCP) exposure was evaluated from 1940 through 1989. The study cohort is a subset of a larger cohort of workers with potential exposure to higher chlorinated dioxins. Total mortality and cancer mortality in the PCP cohort were slightly lower than expected in comparison to the U.S. white male population. There were 229 total deaths with 242.5 expected (SMR = 94, 95% confidence interval 83-108), and 50 cancer deaths with 52.6 expected (SMR = 95, 95% confidence interval 71-125). In comparison with unexposed employees, the risk ratio for total mortality was 1.03 (95% confidence interval 0.90-1.17), and the risk ratio for all cancer mortality was 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.71-1.26). In most cause of death categories of a priori interest no deaths were observed in the cohort. A small excess of other and unspecified lymphopoietic cancer deaths was observed but did not appear to be related to exposure. Excesses of deaths due to cancer of the kidney, gastric and duodenal ulcer, cirrhosis of the liver, and all accidents were observed in comparison with the U.S. white male population and with unexposed employees. These were associated with increasing estimated cumulative PCP exposure after lagging exposures by 5 and 15 years. Despite the limited size and the generally favorable total mortality experience of the cohort, it was concluded that cohort members may have incurred increased risk of death due to some specific causes. The risks could not, however, be attributed conclusively to PCP exposure and may have been associated with other occupational and nonoccupational factors. Additional mortality surveillance of this cohort will be performed.

Accidents↗
PubMed1995

Have sperm counts been reduced 50 percent in 50 years? A statistical model revisited.

OBJECTIVE: To reanalyze data that were used in a linear model to predict that mean sperm counts have been reduced globally by approximately 50% in the last 50 years. DESIGN: The mean sperm counts and their temporal distribution were reanalyzed via several different statistical models (quadratic, spline fit, and stairstep). CONCLUSION: There are several reasons why a published linear regression model is inappropriate to infer a 50% reduction in mean sperm counts in the last 50 years. These include [1] the potential selection biases that may have occurred with the 61 assembled studies such that they are not representative of their underlying populations; [2] the likely variability in collection methods, in particular, the lack of adherence to a minimum prescribed abstinence period, as has been stated for the largest study, which contained 29.7% of all the subjects included in the analysis; [3] the paucity of data in the first 30 years of the 50-year trend analysis; [4] the fact that if the last 20 years of data are examined, which contains 78.7% of all the studies and 88.1% of the total number of subjects, there is no decrease in sperm counts, in fact, sperm counts were observed to have increased; [5] the conflicting data from a large individual laboratory, which was not prone to the collection variability that likely occurred between the 61 studies, that did not suggest a decline in mean sperm count or seminal volume during a comparable time period, even though this laboratory published the data that were largely responsible for the high historical values in the linear model; and, most importantly, [6] the variety of other mathematical models that perform statistically better at describing the recent data than the linear model and thus offer substantially different hypotheses. The data are only robust during the last 20 years of the analysis, in which all the models, except the linear model, suggest constant or slightly increasing sperm counts.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Apparent increased risk of leukemia in their highest category of exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in drinking water.

The potential human carcinogenicity of PCE has been the subject of study for many years, yet the largest and most recent occupational studies have not reported any increased risk of leukemia in PCE-exposed groups, let alone a risk of the magnitude suggested by Aschengrau et al. The EPA's own Science Advisory Board concluded in 1991 that PCE is a chemical "for which there is no compelling evidence of human cancer risk, accompanied by animal data of carcinogenicity whose extrapolation to humans is ambiguous." Given this background, it is not plausible that a leukemia risk of the magnitude reported by Aschengrau et al. should exist but not have been found among highly exposed occupational groups. Aschengrau et al. could contribute to our understanding of this inconsistency by presenting the additional data analysis that I have suggested.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of the summer heat wave of 1988 on daily mortality in Allegheny County, PA.

The authors studied total mortality in Allegheny County, PA, during the summer of 1988. A heat wave occurred in July of 1988, with daily maximum temperatures near or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit on 15 consecutive days. During that period there were a total of 694 deaths from all causes in the county, compared with an expected 587 deaths (P less than .01). All 107 excess deaths were of persons ages 65 or older, with the majority (78) occurring to persons older than age 75. Daily mortality was most closely correlated with average temperature from the previous day (R = .49, P less than .01), suggesting the cumulative effects of successive high daytime and night-time temperatures on susceptible persons. Evaluation of a possible effect on mortality of high ambient ozone levels detected in early July suggested that ozone did not contribute to excess mortality during the heat wave. Comparison of the 1988 heat wave with a less intense hot spell of 1973 indicated that excess mortality was less than would have been expected in 1988. The authors speculate that increased public awareness and the wider use of air conditioning over the years may have reduced the lethality of periods of extreme summer temperatures in urban areas. Further research is needed to evaluate this hypothesis completely. Public health officials should continue to monitor weather forecasts for predictions of extended periods of unusual heat and should warn the public to take suitable precautions during such periods.

Age Factors↗