| This analytic data file set consists of one file generated for a case-comparative mortality study of white males exposed to phosgene at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Facility from 1943 to 1945 by A.P. Polednak, published in Environmental Research. A follow-up article was later published in Toxicology and Industrial Health. |
| Studies of humans and animals indicate that exposure to high levels of phosgene result in short-term health effects that include emphysema, pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, and other possible effects. This study examined the mortality experience of workers exposed to phosgene gas while working at Y-12 from 1943 through 1945. The study population consisted of 18,869 white males employed at Y-12, while Tennessee Eastman Corporation was the operating contractor (1943 to 1945). There were two groups of interest: the first group included 699 white males that received daily exposure to low levels of phosgene, and the second group consisted of 106 men with definite acute exposures and symptoms that indicated exposure to levels as high as 50 ppm or higher. No evidence of excess overall mortality or mortality from diseases to the respiratory system was found. Pneumonitis was diagnosed in 23.6% of the 106 workers in the second group. The primary author analyzed updated information for this cohort approximately 5 years after the initial study. The major finding in the updated study was the occurrence of five deaths in the second group of 106 workers due to respiratory diseases (1.88 deaths expected), although the standardized mortality ratio did not reach statistical significance. There were no deaths due to lung cancer in the second group despite 33 to 35 years of follow-up. |
| The single analytic file, ORY12A04_d1 (ANALYSIS), consists of 106 records, one for each person in the second group. The file contains demographic and work history data. |
| Vital status was ascertained through December 31, 1973, for the initial study and through December 31, 1978, for the updated study. There were 29 deaths identified in the highly exposed group for the first study and 41 deaths found for the group in the updated study. |
| No personal monitoring data were used in either study. |
