In May 2000, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CTDPH) began an investigation of a reported increase in brain cancer at the North Haven facility and identified several cases of glioblastoma (GB), the most common form of brain cancer.  The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) exposure assessment considered 11 chemical or physical agents on the basis of known or suspected carcinogenic potential that could affect the central nervous system or other organs. UIC generated quantitative exposure estimates for soluble and mineral oil Metalworking Fluids, nickel, cobalt, chromium, solvents and a combustion aerosol generated during high-speed and high-temperature grinding that was unique to the North Haven plant.  Researchers assigned qualitative exposures for ionizing radiation, electromagnetic fields, polychlorinated biphenyls and lead-cadmium.  Exposure to one or more of 20 jet engine part families and 16 process categories created for the study also was assigned.  At the conclusion of the study, researchers found no statistically significant increase in overall CNS neoplasm rates among the Pratt & Whitney workforce as compared with the corresponding rates in the general populations of the U.S.

The results of the study available online, will be published in the June edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.