After 20 years of research and almost as many years of defense industry groups to court for control of their data , government scientists can finally publish two documents showing that miners exposed to diesel fumes have an increased risk for triple lung cancer. The study could have significant impact on a future review of federal and international safety requirements for exposure to diesel fumes.
The Diesel Exhaust 11.5 million $ Miners Study (DEMS) -run jointly by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) -Follow 12,315 miners eight mines in Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wyoming. An industry coalition denounced the study as flawed almost from the start and took the government to court several times. The industry coalition has won a court ruling in 01 after the government has mismanaged a deposit of the procedure, which requires scientists to submit all data and research draft documents before publication, for review period of 0 days.
After a review process by peers throughout the year, the DEMS scientists recently presented to the industry and other copies of two major documents they plan to publish in the Journal of the National cancer Institute . The mining coalition has made no official response, but in mid-February, the 0-day waiting period began to decline, Henry Chajet, a lawyer based in Washington DC and lobbyist for Mine Awareness Resource Group ( MARG), a part of the judicial affairs, sent a letter to at least four scientific journals warning that they risked unspecified consequences if they published the study. (For more on the letter of Chajet, and the merits of the case, see this post.)
Today marks the 91st day after the DEMS scientists submitted to JNCI . With the ongoing legal case (currently on appeal before a federal court in New Orleans) and the possibility of future complications, scientific Dems wasted no time either publication paper (available here and here; NCI and NIOSH also summarized the results here and here).
Debra Silverman, an NCI epidemiologist and lead author of one of the documents of DEMS, is the only original scientific DEMS still working on since its creation in 1992. Then she said groups of industry often challenge studies in the workplace, "in my career, I encounter something like this case. ... it was longer and more difficult. It is perhaps record, I'm not sure. "
rather than comment directly, Chajet issued a statement expressing" disappointment "and claiming that government scientists never turned on all the data and documents they should have before publication . He accused DEMS violate congressional directives and court orders, and criticized the study for being "11 years late and $ 9 million over budget."
Both JNCI papers discuss further aspects of DEMS data. The first, a cohort-analysis paper led by NIOSH, looked all deaths among miners with lung cancer, and other causes. The second, a case-control analysis document managed by Silverman and NCI, focused on the victims of one lung cancer, and controlled for smoking, other respiratory diseases, and previous employment in areas at high risk . Both studies showed consistent and significant results: a risk multiplied by three for lung cancer overall, and increased risk five times for the most heavily exposed to diesel exhaust minors. ( JNCI also published an editorial on the study.)
The timing of the publication of DEMS data is critical because two prestigious groups, the International Agency for Research on cancer and the US National Toxicology Program are set to review their standards on the health risks of diesel exhaust. Their decisions could have financial consequences for many diesel engine users, particularly in lawsuits claiming damages.
Although NIOSH and NCI said in a joint statement that "it will be for regulators to determine if the current acceptable level should be lowered," they added that the DEMS results "should be widely applicable to other workers with similar levels of exposure to diesel exhaust. "
the DEMS study was considered revolutionary at the time because it controlled for factors such as smoking, and because selected mines that produce non-metallic substances such as limestone, potash and salt. These mines do not expose minors to potential carcinogens, such as asbestos, radon and silica, which has . DEMS allowed to better isolate the effects of work around machinery with diesel in enclosed spaces
About 20 years test for the published study, Silverman said, "It was so important to public health that it was worth supporting the challenges. " She added: "It is a very good day for us,"
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