Opportunities for studying extension of workplace findings of occupational cancer into the community

A path-breaking paper by Infante et al. (2009) extended findings of cases of vinyl chloride (VC)-related angiosarcoma of the liver (ASL) from manufacturing settings to use of VC-containing products, specifically hair spray with VC propellant. Infante et al. described two cases of ASL in a barber and hairdresser who used VC sprays in the 1960s and 1970s; VC use in hair sprays was banned in 1974. The sprays were used extensively at home by women creating and maintaining "beehive" and similar "big hair" hairdos. This paper discusses home use and possible levels of exposure to VC among women who had "big hair" in the 1960s and 1970s, including Baltimore women who were part of the "hon" socioeconomic group. Women who had "big hair" may be suitable subjects for epidemiologic study of VC-associated ASL. Also, expansion plants for vermiculite mined near Libby, MT, and elsewhere in the U.S,. may have exposed many Americans in numerous cities to asbestos contamination. Exposure to vermiculite has been associated with development of asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, the sentinel cancer for asbestos which is a counterpart to VC's ASL. Based on experience in neighborhoods near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, residence near expansion plants could mean an increased risk of asbestos-related disease. These extensions of occupational disease into the community merits further examination and may be only two of many opportunities to extend workplace risk studies into community settings.