ISSN 0355-3140 candinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health Published by Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland National Institute of Occupational Health, Denmark National Institute of Occupational Health, Norway National Institute of Occupational Health, Sweden Address: Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland Subscription for 1995 (6 regular issues plus supplements and special issue): FIM 800.00 surface mail to Scandinavian countries, FIM 900.00 surface mail to other countries, FIM 150.00 surcharge for air mail Editor in chief: Sven Hernberg, Helsinki | Assistant editor in chief: Mikko Harm, Helsinki | Technical editor: Georgianna Oja, Tampere Editorial secretary: Maj-Britt Vaariskoski, Helsinki Co-editors: |b Andersen, Copenhagen; candinavian Bengt Knave, Stockholm; and Tor Norseth, Oslo Journal of Work, Environment Editorial Board & Health | Torbjérn Akerstedt, Stockholm Helge Kjuus, Oslo | Johan A Aarli, Bergen Stein Knardahl,Oslo | Anders Ahibom, Stockholm Tage S Kristensen, Copenhagen Antero Aitio, Helsinki Sverre Langard, Oslo | Gunnar Aronsson, Stockholm Kari Lindstrom, Helsinki | Olav Axelson, Linképing Per Lundberg, Stockholm Lars Barregard, Géteborg Ritva Luukkonen, Helsinki Ulf Bergqvist, Stockholm Per Malmberg, Stockholm Erik Bye, Oslo Antti Malmivaara, Helsinki Hanne Christensen, Copenhagen Gunnar Nordberg, Umea Ronald Dahl, Arhus Henrik Nordman, Helsinki Erik Dybing, Oslo Hannu Norppa, Helsinki Christer Edling, Uppsala Jorn Olsen, Arhus Address: Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland Carl Gustaf Elinder, Stockholm Timo Partanen, Helsinki Birgitta Floderus, Stockholm Vilhjalmur Rafnsson, Reykjavik Telephone: (+ 358 0) 47 471 (editors), | Gésta Gemne, Stockholm Kari Reijula, Helsinki (+ 358 0) 474 7694 (business office), and (+ 358 31) 260 8644 | Finn Gyntelberg, Copenhagen Hilkka Riihimaki, Helsinki (redactory office) Mats Hagberg, Stockholm Vesa Riihimaki, Helsinki Lars Hagmar, Lund Ragnar Rylander, Goteborg Telefax: (+ 358 0) 878 3326 (editors and business office) and Matti Hakama, Tampere Jorma Saari, Helsinki (+ 358 31) 260 8615 (redactory office) Timo Hakulinen, Helsinki Thomas Schneider, Copenhagen e-mail: [email protected] (business office and editors) Rolf Hanoa, Oslo Staffan Skerfving, Lund Maila Hietanen, Helsinki Torsten Skov, Copenhagen Bank: Merita Bank, Tukholmankatu 2, Gunnar Hillerdal, Uppsala Jukka Starck, Helsinki FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland (account number 226218-84276) Bjorn Hilt, Trondheim Eva Stottrup Hansen, Copenhagen Christer Hogstedt, Stockholm Erkki O Terho, Turku Subscription for 1995 (6 regular issues plus supplements): Bo Holmberg, Stockholm Tores Theorell, Stockholm FIM 800.00 surface mail to Scandinavian countries, Erik Holst, Copenhagen Yngvar Thomassen, Oslo FIM 900.00 surface mail to other countries, FIM 150.00 Pekka Huuhtanen, Helsinki Antti Tossavainen, Helsinki surcharge for air mail. | Juhani Ilmarinen, Helsinki Ulf Ulfvarson, Stockholm Please send subscriptions to the Editorial Secretary, | Anders Iregren, Stockholm Harri Vainio, Helsinki Maj-Britt Vaariskoski, at the address above. Kurt Jorgensen, Copenhagen Eira Viikari-Juntura, Helsinki Claims: The Journal cannot assume responsibility for Bengt Jarvholm, Géteborg Nina K Vollestad, Oslo replacing undelivered or damaged issues unless notified no Raija Kalimo, Helsinki Jan Wahlberg, Stockholm later than six months following the month of publication. Lasse Kanerva, Helsinki Stig Wall, Umea | Timo Kauppinen, Helsinki Hans Wedel, Géteborg Printed in Finland by Vammalan Kirjapaino Oy, 1995 | Asa Kilbom, Stockholm Arne Wennberg, Stockholm The Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health is registered with the Copyright Clearance Center in the United States. 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C.o ntents Volume 21, number 1, Febwary 1995 Editorial Time for change S Hernberg Reviews Occupational back pain — an unhelpful polemic JW Frank, IR Pulcins, MS Kerr, HS Shannon, SA Stansfeld Original articles 15 Reducing random measurement error in assessing postural load on the back in epidemiologic surveys A Burdorf 24 Mortality among Icelandic nurses H Gunnarsdottir, V Rafnsson 30 Dermatoses determined in a population of farmers in a questionnaire-based clinical study including methodology validation P Susitaival, L Husman, A Holimén, M Horsmanheimo 36 Single-strand breaks in deoxyribonucleic acid in fire fighters accidentally exposed to o-nitroanisole and other chemicals JG Hengstler, J Fuchs, U Bolm-Audorff, S Meyer, F Oesch 43 Assessment and grouping of occupational magnetic field exposure in five electric utility companies H Kromhout, DP Loomis, GJ Mihlan, LA Peipins, RC Kleckner, R Iriye, DA Savitz 51 Health symptoms and the work environment in four nonproblem United States office buildings | NA Nelson, JD Kaufman, J Burt, C Karr Commentaires Musculoskeletal disorders among operators of visual display terminals C-N Ong, S-E Chia, J Jeyaratnam, KC Tan Letters to the editor 65 Does welding stainless steel cause cancer? F Marini, M-P Ferré, H Gross, B Mantout, M Huvinen, D Beaufils, P-J Cunat, C Bozec Author's reply Sverre Langard Sex ratio of offspring of female physiotherapists exposed to low-level high-frequency electromagnetic radiation WH James Request for help with evaluations for occupational safety intervention SJ Guastello, HS Shannon Meeting reports 70 Consolidation and some outlooks to the future U Bergqvist, B Knave 72 Epidemiology in occupational health S Hernberg Book reviews 77 Challenges to accident prevention 78 Noted elsewhere 79 Announcements Volume 21, number 2, April 1995 Editorial 81 Exposure to pollutants through consumption of contaminated fish S$ Skerfving Reviews 85 Heart rate variability in health and disease E Kristal-Boneh, M Raifel, P Froom, J Ribak Original articles 96 Fish consumption and exposure to persistent organochlorine compounds, mercury, selenium and methylamines among Swedish fishermen B-G Svensson, A Nilsson, E Jonsson, A Schiitz, B Akesson, L Hagmar Mortality and cancer incidence among Swedish fishermen with a high dietary intake of persistent organochlorine compounds B-G Svensson, Z Mikoczy, U Strémberg, L Hagmar Cancer incidence among pharmaceutical workers C Edling, L Friis, Z Mikoczy, L Hagmar, P Lindfors Relationship of pesticide spraying to signs and symptoms in Indonesian farmers M Kishi, N Hirschhorn, M Djajadisastra, LN Satterlee, S Strowman, R Dilts Psychosocial factors at work in relation to back and limb disorders P/ Leino, V Hanninen Neurobehavioral effects of manganese in workers from a ferroalloy plant after temporary cessation of exposure R Lucchini, L Selis, D Folli, P Apostoli, A Mutti, O Vanoni, A Iregren, L Alessio Letters to the Editor Multiple logistic analysis software usually does not provide error message for empty cells A Knutsson Author's reply A-M Landtblom, U Flodin, O Axelson Book reviews Handbook of health hazard control in the chemical process industry Destruction of hazardous chemicals in the laboratory News Noted elsewhere Announcements Volume 21, number 3, June 1995 Editorial 161 Research, prevention and impact S Hernberg Reviews Possible mechanisms for the respiratory tract effects of noncarcinogenic indoor-climate pollutants and bases for their risk assessment G Damgard Nielsen, Y Alarie, O Melchior Poulsen, B Andersen Nexa Original articles Pooled reanalysis of cancer mortality among five cohorts of workers in wood-related industries PA Demers, P Boffetta, M Kogevinas, A Blair, BA Miller, CF Robinson, RJ Roscoe, PD Winter, D Colin, E Matos, H Vainio Pregnancy-related sickness absence among employed women in a Swedish county K Alexanderson, G Hensing, J Carstensen, P Bjurulf Influence of occupational physical activity on pregnancy duration and birthweight F/M Florack, AEMC Pellegrino, GA Zielhuis, R Rolland Changes in occupational physical loading during the lifetimes of Finnish men LE Gibbons, MC Battié, T Videman Sources of variance in exposure to nonneutral trunk postures in varying work situations AJ van der Beek, JI Kuiper, M Dawson, A Burdorf, PM Bongers, MHW Frings-Dresen Prevalence of microfungi in Finnish cow barns and some aspects of the occurrence of Wallemia sebi and Fusaria R Hanhela, K Louhelainen, A-L Pasanen Meeting reports IARC evaluates wood dust and formaldehyde J Wilbourn, E Heseltine, H Maller From research to prevention — the 50th anniversary congress of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health S Hernberg Book reviews Occupational neurology and clinical neurotoxicology Trends in cancer incidence and mortality News Noted elsewhere Announcements Volume 21, number 4, August 1995 Editorial 241 Ethics in research S Hernberg Reviews 245 Ethical aspects of prevention L Tomatis Original articles 252 Cancer risk for European asphalt workers TJ Partanen, P Boffetta, PR Heikkilaé, RR Frentzel-Beyme, D Heederik, M Hours, BG Jarvholm, TP Kauppinen, H Kromhout, S Langard, Ole B Svane, M Bernstein, PA Bertazzi, M Kogevinas, MA Neuberger, B Pannett, J Sunyer Occupational and environmental mesotheliomas due to crocidolite mining activities in Wittenoom, Western Australia A Rogers, M Nevill Performance of odds ratios obtained with a job-exposure matrix and individual exposure assessment with special reference to misclassification errors J Bouyer, J Dardenne, D Hémon Male-mediated risk of spontaneous abortion with reference to stainless steel welding NHI Hjollund, JPE Bonde, KS Hansen Perinatal outcome in the offspring of employees and people living around a Swedish smelter M Wulff, U Hégberg AIM Sandstrém Frequency of sister chromatid exchange and hematological effects in pesticide-exposed greenhouse sprayers F Lander, M Ranne Short communications Scleroderma and occupational exposure M Bovenzi, F Barbone, A Betta, M Tommasini, W Versini Primary liver cancer and renal cell carcinoma in laundry and dry-cleaning workers in Denmark E Lynge, B Carstensen, O Andersen Case reports Lead intoxication caused by skeletal disease K Berlin, L Gerhardsson, J Bérjesson, E Lindh, N Lundstrém, A Schiitz, S Skerfving, C Edling Letters to the Editor Pleural mesothelioma in oil refinery workers O Wong Author’s reply V Gennaro, M Ceppi, V Fontana, A Perrotta, S Silvano, P Boffetta Meeting reports Dry cleaning, some solvents used in dry cleaning and other industrial chemicals DB McGregor, E Heseltine, H Maller First Nordic workshop on quality assurance in occupational hygiene, 25—26 August 1994 JO Levin Book reviews Hard facts about soft machines: the ergonomics of seating Stress monitoring in the workplace Environmental health risks and public policy: decision making in free societies Noted elsewhere News Volume 21, number 5, October 1995 Editorial 321 Evaluation of research — ad ifficult but necessary task J Rantanen Reviews 325 Reproductive disorders due to chemical exposure among hairdressers WM Kersemaekers, N Roeleveld, GA Zielhuis Original articles 335 Skin symptoms after the reduction of electric fields from visual display units G Oftedal, Al Vistnes, K Rygge 345 Fiber exposure assessment in the Swedish rock wool and slag wool production industry in 1938—1990 W Plato, S Krantz, P Gustavsson, TJ Smith, P Westerholm 353 Cancer incidence, mortality and exposure-response among Swedish man-made vitreous fiber production workers N Plato, P Westerholm, P Gustavsson, T Hemmingsson, C Hogstedt, S Krantz 362 Cancer incidence and mortality of patients with suspected solvent-related disorders K Berlin, C Ealing, B Persson, G Ahlborg, L Hillert, B Hégstedt, | Lundberg, B-G Svensson, G Thiringer, P Orb#k 368 Decreased birthweight among infants born to women with a high dietary intake of fish contaminated with persistent organochlorine compounds _L Aylander, U Stromberg, L Hagmar 376 Risk assessment methodologies for carcinogenic compounds in indoor air BA Nexo 382 Visual dysfunction among styrene-exposed workers D Campagna, D Mergler, G Huel, S Bélanger, G Truchon, C Ostiguy, D Drolet Book reviews 391 Work and aging: a European prospective 393 Noted elsewhere 395 News 396 Announcements 400 Corrections and amendments Volume 21, number 6, December 1995 Editorial 401 Hands up or back to work — future challenges in epidemiologic research on musculoskeletal diseases H Riihimaki Reviews 405 Adverse health impacts of air pollution — continuing problems DV Bates Original articles 412 Maternal work during pregnancy and the risks of delivering a small-for-gestational-age or preterm infant /F ortier, S Marcoux, J Brisson 419 Mortality and cancer incidence among women with a high consumption of fatty fish contaminated with persistent organochlorine compounds L Rylander, L Hagmar 427 Musculoskeletal symptoms among sewing machine operators B Schibye, T Skov, D Ekner, JU Christiansen, G Sjagaard 435 Social support, job strain and musculoskeletal pain among female health care personnel GK Ahlberg-Hultén, T Theorell, S Filis 440 HARBO, a simple computer-aided observation method for recording work postures C Wiktorin, M Mortimer, L Ekenvall, A Kilbom, E Wigaeus Hjelm Cancer risk among workers in biomedical research SS Cordier, M-L Mousel, C Le Goaster, G Gachelin, N Le Moual, L Mandereau, F Carrat, G Michaud, D Hemon Excess lung cancer among workers exposed to lead A Anttila, P Heikkila, E Pukkala, E Nykyri, T Kauppinen, S Hernberg, K Hemminki Radiographic small lung opacities and pleural abnormalities as a consequence of asbestos exposure in an adult population AJ Zitting, A Karjalainen, O Impivaara, A Tossavainen, T Kuusela, J Maki, MS Huuskonen Humeral epicondylitis among gas- and waterworks employees BR Ritz Occurrence of self-reported asthma among Swedish bakers SJ Brisman, BG Jarvholm Cumulative injury rate and potential workdays and salary lost +Y-C Chang, J-D Wang Modeling long-term average exposure in occupational exposure-response analysis L Preller, H Kromhout, D Heederik, MJM Tielen Short communications Lung cancer mortality update and prevalence of smoking among copper miners and smelters R Chen, L Wei, R-L Chen Case reports Peripheral neuropathy in styrene-exposed workers F Gobba, F Cavalleri, D Bontadi, P Torri, R Dainese Letters to the Editor Occupation and suicide 7 Partanen, N Jourenkova, E Welp, M Johansson Meeting reports International symposium on night and shift work M Harmda Eleventh international symposium on epidemiology in occupational health C Edling Health program of the 10th World Clean Air Congress RO Salonen Book reviews Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs): a reference book for prevention A practical approach to occupational and environmental medicine Noted elsewhere Announcements Amendments and corrections Volume 21, suppl 1, 1995 1—44 Neuropsychiatric function of housepainters with previous long-term heavy exposure to organic solvents | Lundberg , H Michélsen, G Nise, C Hogstedt, M Hégberg, L Alfredsson, O Almkvist, A Gustavsson, M Hagman, J Herlofson, T Hindmarsh, A Wennberg Volume 21, suppl 2, 1995 Preface Acknowledgments Physicochemistry, tumor biology and cellular mechanisms Mineralogical characteristics of silica polymorphs in relation to their biological activities GD Guthrie, Jr, PJ Heaney Physicochemical properties of crystalline silica dusts and their possible implication in various biological responses B Fubini, V Bolis, A Cavenago, M Volante Particle activity and in vivo pulmonary response to freshly milled and aged alpha-quartz DA Shoemaker, JR Pretty, DM Ramsey, JL McLaurin, A Khan, AW Teass, V Castranova, WH Pailes, NS Dalal, PR Miles, L Bowman, S Leonard, J Shumaker, V Vallyathan, D Pack Differential pulmonary responses in rats inhaling crystalline, colloidal or amorphous silica dusts DB Warheit, TA McHugh, MA Hartsky Direct interaction between crystalline silica and DNA: a proposed model for silica carcinogenesis LN Daniel, Y Mao, AO Williams, U Saffiotti Neoplastic lung lesions in rat after chronic exposure to crystalline silica H Muhle, B Kittel, H Ernst, U Mohr, R Mermelstein Transforming growth factor 87, ras, and p53 in silica-induced fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis AO Williams, U Saffiotti Silica sampling, industrial hygiene and modeling Methods used by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to monitor crystalline silica CD Lorberau, MT Abell Historical total and respirable silica dust exposure levels in mines and pottery factories in China M Dosemeci, JK McLaughlin, J-Q Chen, F Hearl, R-G Chen, M McCawley, Z Wu, K-L ?eng, A-L Chen, SH Rexing, WJ Blot Potential for respirable quartz exposure from North Carolina farm soils CM Stopford, W Stopford Silica exposures in workplaces in the United States between 1980 and 1992 CS Freeman, EA Grossman Mathematical model of phagocytosis and inflammation after the inhalation of quartz at different concentrations CL Tran, AD Jones, K Donaldson Epidemiology of silica, silicosis and cancer Silicosis surveillance in Ontario from 1979 to 1992 MM Finkelstein Incidence of silicosis among ceramic workers in central Italy F Cavariani, A Di Pietro, M Miceli, F Forastiere, A Biggeri, P Scavalli, A Petti, P Borgia Preliminary analysis of proportional mortality in a cohort of British pottery workers exposed to crystalline silica JC McDonald, N Cherry, R McNamee, G Burgess, S Turner Preliminary study of lung cancer mortality in Western Australia gold miners exposed to silica NH de Klerk, AW Musk, S Tetlow, J Hansen, JL Eccles Lung cancer among workers exposed to silica dust in Chinese refractory plants D Dong, G Xu, Y Sun, P Hu Mortality among persons with silicosis reported to disease surveillance systems in Michigan and New Jersey in the United States KD Rosenman, MJ Stanbury, MJ Reilly Mortality among silicotics in Genoa, Italy, from 1961 to 1987 F Merlo, L Fontana, G Reggiardo, M Ceppi, G Barisone, E Garrone, M Doria Silicosis and lung cancer among workers in North Carolina dusty trades HE Amandus, C Shy, RM Castellan, A Blair, EF Heineman Silica, silicosis, and cancer in Finland 7 Partanen, J Jaakkola, A Tossavainen Environmental and workplace risk assessment Assessment of silicosis risk for occupational exposure to crystalline silica FL Rice, LT Stayner Potential years of life lost and work tenure lost when silicosis is compared with other pneumoconioses Y Zhong, D Li Evaluation of crystalline silica as a threshold carcinogen AK Klein, JP Christopher Cancer risk assessment for crystalline silica to implement California’s Hot Spots Act JF Collins, MA Marty Comparative cancer potency for silica from extrapolations of human and animal findings DF Goldsmith, RP Ruble, CO Klein Future research directions and areas of focus Biogenic amorphous silica J Rabovsky Policy development for compensating workers exposed to crystalline silica in Ontario, Canada _L Elinson, KS Yeung Future research needs in the silica, silicosis and cancer field DF Goldsmith, GR Wagner, U Saffiotti, J Rabovsky, J Leigh