Mortality patterns in a population living near a copper smelter.

An attempt to investigate the effects of pollution by a copper smelter on an adjacent community was carried out by studying the mortality patterns in Rouyn-Noranda, Province of Quebec, compared to the mortality in Val d'Or (a control community of the same area) and the whole province, during the period 1965-1974. The study shows, in Rouyn-Noranda, an excess of deaths by lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diseases of the digestive system among men and this excess remains even after adjustment for occupational exposure and could not be attributed to smoking habits either. Among women, deaths by endocrine and metabolic diseases and chronic respiratory diseases are in excess in Rouyn-Noranda.

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