Health Effects of Asbestos Exposure Among Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Workers, Status Report (1977)

This 1977 status report gave early, tentative results from a study of men at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii who were on its personnel rolls in 1950 or hired through 1970. Their vital status was traced to January 1, 1974, with a 92% follow-up rate. Deaths among 9182 men were compared with the numbers expected from Hawaii's general population. Separate analyses covered men with at least one year in a trade classed as having potential asbestos exposure and men with less than a year or none; direct comparisons between the two groups were planned. Deaths from all causes were below expected in both groups. For lung cancer, the risk ratio was higher in the exposed group than in the non-exposed group, but neither differed significantly from 1. After an adjustment, the exposed group's ratio was 1.2, still not significant. No significant associations were found for stomach or large bowel cancer. Air sampling during recent ripout work found no detectable asbestos. The authors concluded that the results showed no significant risk so far. They cautioned that follow-up was short and that smoking data were lacking.

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From J-M's medical library

This copy comes from the Johns-Manville medical library. J-M listed it in its medical library index as no. 004245.

We publish this piece for research and commentary: it shows what the medical literature in a leading asbestos company's own library said on the subject, and when. Our summary above is our own reading of it. The copyright stays with the publisher.