Risk of brain tumours in firemen : Risques de tumeurs cérébrales chez les pompiers

Indeed, the IARC classification of acrylonitrile (2B, “downgraded” from 2A) reflects the total absence of carcinogenic effects in industrial workers exposed to the compound and the lack of any evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenic action of acrylonitrile in rats also applies to man (IARC, 1999). [...] In a study of exposures in the City of Montréal fire department, Austin et al., 2001a, found that SCBAs were worn about 50% of the time at structural fires, but they were worn for only 6% of the total time spent at all types of fires. [...] At the end of this period, the vital status of 99% of the firemen was determined, resulting in 470 observed deaths. [...] From the point of view of measures of exposure, length of the historical cohort and the length of follow-up, the study of firemen in Philadelphia, 1925 to 1986, conducted by Baris et al., 2001, is particularly valuable. [...] In the study of Baris et al., 2001, the SMR for all causes of death was significantly reduced during the first 9 years and after 20 years of employment, but not in the employment range 10 – 19 years.