Studies of the Scottish shale oil areas. Vol.2: Mortality in the Scottish mining communities. Final report on US Department of Energy agreement No.DE-AC02-84ER60199

This study aimed to identify any adverse impact of the shale industry on mortality in communities in Scotland where oil shale was extracted and processed until 1962, when the industry closed.Civil Parishes in the study area were classified as ‘Shale’, ‘Coalmining’ or ‘Rural’ according to levels of shale and coal industry activity during or shortly before those periods over which mortality was monitored. Information about the population at risk in these areas, and mortality, was obtained primarily from official sources, supplemented by ad hoc investigations of specific problems.Mortality analyses focussed on malignant causes 1953-81 and non-malignant causes 1963-81; mortality from all causes, 1911-31, was also examined.There was no evidence that mortality 1911-31 among men or women in the shale areas was higher than in coalmining areas locally, or in selected other Scottish regions. Among men, non-malignant mortality 1963-81 was higher in the shale than in other industrial areas, probably reflecting social factors (e.g. unemployment following decline of the shale industry) rather than a direct effect of previous shale production. As anticipated, there was excess mortality from pneumoconiosis in the coalmining parishes, and from skin cancer in the shale areas. Other analyses of malignant causes 1953-81 suggested increased risks of bladder cancer and (among men) of other genito-urinary cancer in parishes where the shale industry had been concentrated. “”