Summary

In 2001, it was determined that some exfoliation plants in Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, received vermiculite contaminated with asbestos fibers originating from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana.

After receiving funding, in a cooperative agreement, from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a health statistics review was conducted to evaluate whether the populations residing in Zip Codes 70084 (St. John the Baptist Parish), 70117 and 70126 (Orleans Parish), and 70121 (Jefferson Parish), had elevated cancer incidence for cancer sites associated with exposures to asbestos. All of the sites reviewed were exfoliation plants except for zip code 70126.

Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIRs) were computed to compare the observed number of cases to the expected number of cases based on incidence rates for the state of Louisiana as a whole. White females and white males in the 70084, 70117, 70121, and 70126 zip codes combined had significantly higher SIRs for stomach cancer. White females had significantly higher SIRs for digestive tract cancers in zip code 70084.

In zip code 70084, black females and black males had statistically higher incidence for lung and bronchus cancer. In zip code 70117, white males had significantly higher incidence ratios for digestive tract cancer, respiratory cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and stomach cancer when compared to the state of Louisiana. In zip code 70121, black females had a statistically higher incidence for mesothelioma.