[Carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum products: possible prevention of mineral oil cancer].

A real epidemy of cutaneous cancer has appeared from 1954 in a french area specialized in the metal machining industry (valley of the Arve, Haute-Saoie). Two investigations have been carried out: - one, of clinical and epidemiological nature over a period of 15 years, has recorded 133 casesof spinocellular epitheliams often located in the scrotum and has allowed to estimate the hazard for the population of this region at 25 per 100 000 (that is to say 36 times more than for the general population). - the other, of chemical nature, has revealed on one hand that the new cutting oils, such as delivered to the utilizers, rather frequently contain benzo [a] pyrene (concentration : 0,5 to 150 ug/l), and on the other hand that the used oils are inclined to grow richer in carcinogenic hydrocarbons. The prevention must be directed towards a supplementary effort in the refining of industrial oils and proposals for toxicological threshold value, which would allow to supply machine shops with oils no longer presenting a carcinogenic hazards.