Cause specific mortality among employees engaged in the manufacture, formulation, or packaging of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and related salts

Abstract

Mortality is reported to the end of 1982 for 878 chemical workers potentially exposed to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) at any time between 1945 and 1983. Observed mortality was compared with expected levels based on adjusted rates for United States white men and for other male employees from this manufacturing location who were not exposed to 2,4-D. Because of a recently reported increased incidence of astrocytomas in male rats fed the highest dose level of 2,4-D, special attention was given to deaths from brain neoplasms in the cohort. None was observed. The absence of an increased risk of brain cancer in people exposed to 2,4-D is supported by studies of other exposed populations and those studies are briefly reviewed. Moreover, in the present study, analyses by production area, duration of exposure, and cumulative dose showed no patterns suggestive of a causal association between 2,4-D exposure and any other particular cause of death.