Manchester printers had high lung cancer rates

Print union members who had worked in the newspaper industry between 1949 and 1963 were investigated for possible risks of lung cancer related to their work. The researchers found that those who had operated newspaper rotary letterpress machines had an increased risk of lung cancer. Machine assistants were 1.8 times more likely to develop lung cancer than members of the general population. Lung cancer incidence in print managers was 1.4 times the expected level. The increases were attributed to ink mist. The authors say their research “suggests that there may be a real effect of exposure to letterpress ink mists. This is biologically plausible, as benzo[a]pyrene, a known human carcinogen, has been found in appreciable concentrations in the atmosphere of rotary letterpress machine rooms.” Mineral oils, linked to cancer, were also present in print rooms.

DA Leon and others. Lung cancer among newspaper printers exposed to ink mist – a study of trade union members in Manchester, England, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 51, number 2, pages 87-94, 1994.

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