By Tim Clarke
30jun04

http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/

ALCOA workers in Australia are more likely to die from mesothelioma than the rest of the population, a new study has revealed.

The latest Healthwise study of Alcoa employees in Western Australia and Victoria shows that, although the overall incidence of cancer among staff is lower than the general population, workers are more likely to contract several specific types of cancer.

In WA, the cancer incidence rates for mesothelioma - usually caused by exposure to asbestos - were higher for Alcoa employees than the general population, as were skin cancers and cancers of the thyroid and endocrine gland.

Among Victorian Alcoa workers, mesothelioma cases, stomach and kidney cancers were found to be more prevalent than in the rest of the country.

In both states, the death rates from mesothelioma were higher than the national average, while Victorian workers were also more prone to die from prostate cancer.

Dr Michael Donoghue, Alcoa's occupational physician, said the findings surrounding mesothelioma, particularly in Victoria, were not unexpected.

"Mesothelioma is almost always caused by asbestos exposure and like many companies in the 1960s and 70s, Alcoa used asbestos in the early operation of the Point Henry Smelter and Rolling Mill (at Geelong)," Dr Donoghue said.

"It is likely that these cases relate to occupational exposure at Alcoa".

The company was keen to stress the results showed the lower overall risk of death amongst company employees - but did admit surprise at some of the other results.

"This research demonstrates that on the whole Alcoa employees live longer and are healthier than the general population but also raises a number of issues we wish to follow up with further investigation," Dr Donoghue said.

The higher skin cancer rates amongst WA workers were similar across production, maintenance and office workers - which the company said suggested it was not work related.

"This is most likely due to UV exposure from the sun and more work is required to understand where and when this exposure has occurred - either in childhood, outdoor leisure activity or outdoor work," Dr Donoghue said.

But the reasons behind higher rates of thyroid cancer in WA, and stomach and kidney cancers in Victoria could not be explained.

"The excess in stomach cancers was present in the combined Victorian Operations cohort, but when broken down by work group, was only evident in office workers," a background document to the study said.

"At this stage the reason for this excess is unknown, and further analyses of cancer incidence in relation to duration of employment and exposure may clarify this."

The Healthwise study comes two months after a panel of medical experts was convened to determine if a full investigation into cancers suffered by workers at a Alcoa's WA refinery in Kwinana, south of Perth, was needed.

That move followed a report by occupational physician Andrew Harper which found clusters of unusual cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma among 32 men who had worked at the plant.

Alcoa said more detailed studies would now be undertaken of those cancers found "to occur in excess".

** POSTED JUNE 30, 2004 **