Abstract |
In 1981, Mobil Oil Corporation initiated a series of retrospective cohort mortality studies in three of its major oil refineries. The study of our Torrance refinery conducted by the University of Pittsburgh is complete and we are submitting a copy of the final report for your information. The Torrance, California refinery mortality study examined the mortality experience of 1,621 current and former employees. The study included anyone who worked at least one year between 1959 and 1978 at the refinery. We are encouraged by the study results. Deaths from all causes combined were fewer than expected. The study also found a number of statistically significant deficits in the site specific analyses. Prostatic cancer did show a small positive trend with increasing time since first employment. This finding did not appear to be related to Torrance, but some relationship to the prostatic cancer is suggested with earlier work involving transferred employees from the Vernon refinery which closed its refinery operations around 1935. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity to pursue this analysis since the Vernon personnel records because of the passage of time have either been lost or destroyed. |