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10/11/2005.
The French National Institute for Medical Surveillance (Institut National de veille sanitaire-InvS) had just released an important epidemiological study carried out on the staff of EDF-GDF since 1978. The study examines the professional exposure to certain chemical substances in relation to mortality caused by cancer.
This study was carried out on 182,053 men who had worked at least a whole year in the enterprise prior to 1995. Among these men, 15,934 had died before 1999. This investigation was extensive and took place over a long period of time. This explains why it is unusual. On the whole, the mortality rate of the tested population was lower than that of the French population. However, strong inequalities among professional categories were observed within the enterprise, with a much higher mortality rate among unqualified workers.
Tumours are the first cause of death (42%) before illnesses related to circulatory problems (22%) and 13% for violent deaths such as accidents or contaminations. A higher rate of mortality was observed in jobs associated with electricity, machine operations and maintenance.
The test results showed that some substances used were known to be carcinogenic and increase the risk of deaths in people who are exposed to them. This is especially the case with asbestos, responsible for bronchopulmonary cancers and mesotheliums and crystalline silica, also associated with the same type of cancer. The ionizing departments and the electromagnetic fields were not part of the framework of the study.
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