Document oeQ37Bd6bMwVzqaRmQeenDmvr

'-1 * TUESDAY, JANUARY 26,1982 *. ^>.^13 ,a. 37^rx-r*r-Editonai ~~ *--_ ^Perspective --I; '" . ^Living /vXX: X* ^Entertainment Television -jX" V ^ * ?;*:* Comics l W34*>;>T 47-J-,-. *" *" ' ' -s':.' r. ft.^HrsvwVi^bhSi-srrwj: ! excess, but the only thing' that came out of the- intidencsof rectal cancer cases ament Conner report was this rectaLthing.? -Monsanto Co. workers is not conclusive, according As a result of the findings, Marsh's- report m^to the scientist who conducted the study.. -* 'recommended "updating the original Springfield Or. Gary Marsh,, assistant professor of biosta- 4 tics at the University of Pittsburgh, examined rec* Tords of about 2J00 people who had worked at the 'Monsanto plant is Springfield between 1949 and . - -,... i -- '* 'The study was made for Monsanto by the Uni- versify at the request of I^cal 288 of the Interna tional Union of Electrical Workers, which repre sents Moosanto employees, to look, into what the union saw as high cancer incidence at the plant 1 >.:*There was a (statistically) significant excess /or the rectal cancers, but that was the only sig* , sifleant finding in the whole report and yon can't place much weight on IV Marsh said. Ho said the results of the study did not support the hypothesis, that digestive tract or genital-uri nary tract tumors were related to general expo* sure to chemicals in the plant or were related to .'when workers were hired. - It found that such cancers, except lor tumors of . the prostate gland or rectum, were oot-related to ^employment at any of 21 specific stations at the Tplant, be said.' ' ' . Of chemical workers with prostatic cancer. 29 percent had worked In polystyrene processing, but t. that was not considered statistically significant, -hasaid. ' -* ? - study ... so as to better assess the possible rist". .......t. An earlier study suggested there might be an excess of digestive tract cancers and tumors of the genital-urinary system, mostly the prostate gland. 4 A separate study by a research group from the University of Massachusetts found cancer deaths among former workers at the Springfield plant could be linked to materials used in making vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride, ihe man who headed that study said..-. - :. * . ' Dr. Kenneth Kosenmaa, formerly of the univeP sity's Division of Public Health in Amherst, said the investigation of 110 people wtio worked-at- the plant from 19S0 to 1973 found 34 had died, of cancer. tt ."People who. worked there longer, who had a longer latency period, had bigher risks of dying of all malignant neoplasms,"- he s&id'earUe? this month. Rosenman is director of occupational and environmental health services for New Jersey."T-' "The results of the Rosenman-study are oot confirmed by the University of Pittsburgh study." was the response from James Shriver, manager of the Springfield Monsanto plant. ~`T. '.lAmong workers with rectal cancer. 57 percent "The principal difference is that the University ,f.had worked hi cellulose nitrate production, and of Pittsburgh study shows that those employees *- - i->. ^that was considered a statistically significant who died of digestive cancer were-leas likely to ' excess of tumors, But, Manh said, there is no work for a long period of time with vinyl chlo . recent literature Unking bowel cancer with expo* ride," Shriver said. .. . - .. ^r sure to cellulose nitrate. ~. "The information we have from the (Pittsburgh) ^. Be said, "We died to identify a particular study shows this (tag exposure to vinyl chloride) .workplace or agent they (workers) were exposed is not the case" in studied cancer-related to that could have been related to this (cancer) deaths, ' *' \ . .T' RSV 0007073