Abstract
A cohort of 431 male cryolite workers employed for at least six months between 1924 and 1961 was identified from personnel records at the Copenhagen cryolite factory. During this period, heavy fluoride exposure resulted in at least 74 cases of skeletal fluorosis. All workmen in the cohort were followed up in Denmark until July 1, 1981. During 1941-1981, 206 men died, while only 149.3 deaths were expected from national mortality statistics. Significant excesses were seen in the following causes of death: violent death and all cancers, in particular cancer of the respiratory system. When compared with specific mortality rates for the Copenhagen area, violent death (and suicide taken alone) remained in significant excess among employees hired before 1940. Cancer morbidity data for the 35-year period 1943-1977 showed 78 cases of malignant neoplasms in the cryolite workers against 53.2 expected for Denmark as a whole and 67.9 for Copenhagen. The excess was almost entirely due to an excess number of respiratory cancers. Cancer morbidity showed no apparent correlation with length of employment or time from first exposure. Because detailed information on predictors for respiratory cancer was unavailable, a possible residual effect of fluoride cannot be excluded. However, any major carcinogenic effect of heavy fluoride exposure would be very unlikely.
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Cancer Risks in Aluminum Reduction Plant Workers: A Review.
Objective and Methods: This review examines epidemiological evidence relating to cancers in the primary aluminum industry where most of what is known relates to Söderberg operations or to mixed Söderberg/prebake operations. Results and Conclusions: Increased lung and bladder cancer risks have been reported in Söderberg workers from several countries, but not in all.
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Fluoride Exposure Induces Inhibition of Sodium-and Potassium-Activated Adenosine Triphosphatase (Na+, K+-ATPase) Enzyme Activity: Molecular Mechanisms and Implications for Public Health.
In this study, several lines of evidence are provided to show that Na+ , K+ -ATPase activity exerts vital roles in normal brain development and function and that loss of enzyme activity is implicated in neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as increased risk of cancer, metabolic, pulmonary and
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Extended follow-up of cancer incidence in fluoride-exposed workers
Workers at the cryolite mill in Copenhagen, Denmark, are unique because of their exposure to high levels of fluoride dust and their virtual lack of exposure to other occupational toxicants or carcinogens (1,2). We previously reported the cancer morbidity from 1943 through 1987 for 422 male cryolite workers employed for
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Cancer incidence and mortality in workers exposed to fluoride
BACKGROUND: Although a recent bioassay showed increased frequency of bone cancer in rats with high oral intake of fluoride, the data are reported as equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity. In humans, occupational fluoride exposure may cause skeletal fluorosis, and our earlier follow-up of fluoride-exposed workers showed increased incidence of respiratory cancers.
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Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards.
Excerpts: Summary Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to establish exposure standards for contaminants in public drinking-water systems that might cause any adverse effects on human health. These standards include the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), the maximum contaminant level (MCL), and the secondary
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Respiratory Risks from Occupational Fluoride Exposure
Starting in the 1930s, scientists have observed that workers exposed to airborne fluorides suffer from an elevated rate of respiratory disorders. For over 50 years, however, US government and industry scientists made repeated assurances that the allowable level of fluoride dusts and gases in industrial workplaces would not cause any
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NTP Bioassay on Fluoride/Cancer (1990)
In 1977, the U.S. Congress requested that animal studies be conducted to determine if fluoride can cause cancer. The result of the Congressional request was an extensive animal study conducted in the 1980s by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and published in 1990. The main finding of NTP's study was a dose-dependent increase in osteosarcoma (bone cancer) among the fluoride-treated male rats.
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Micronucleus and Sister Chromatid Exchange Frequency in Endemic Fluorosis
The rise of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronucleus (MN) in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of the fluorine-intoxicated patients indicates that fluorine is a mutagenic agent which can cause DNA and chromosomal damage.
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A Critique of Gelberg's Study on Fluoride/Osteosarcoma in New York
The case-control study by Gelberg, published first as a PhD dissertation and then later in two peer-reviewed journals, may represent the most substantive study on fluoride/osteosarcoma previous to Bassin’s 2001 analysis. In assessing Gelberg’s data, we were at first struck by the existence of several notable errors in both the thesis and papers. While these errors do raise questions about the study, our primary concern with Gelberg’s work relates to the methods she used to analyze her data.
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Fluoride & Osteosarcoma: A Timeline
Several human epidemiological studies have found an association between fluoride in drinking water and the occurrence of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in young males. These studies are consistent with the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) cancer bioassay which found that fluoride-treated male rats had an dose-dependent increase in osteosarcoma. Although a number of studies have failed to detect an association between fluoride and osteosarcoma, none of these studies have measured the risk of fluoride at specific windows in time, which based on recent results, is the critical question with respect to fluoride and osteosarcoma.
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