'A Chequered (and Mated) Scientific Career': Robert Case and the Politics of Occupational Bladder Cancer

This article examines Case's pioneering survey and, in particular, the reaction of industry and government to the confirmation that α-naphthylamine, β-naphthylamine, and benzidine were carcinogens. Robert Case's papers and unpublished government and trades union records are used to shed new light on how the chemical industry and government delayed the publication of Case's pathbreaking study and initially hid the results from trade unions. The finding that workers in other industries, such as rubber, were at risk was first censored and then edited by rubber manufacturers. Case's experience has parallels with other scientists, who uncovered industrial diseases in toxic industries. His early retirement was marked by illness and disillusion. His death went almost unnoticed.
Source: Social History of Medicine - Category: History of Medicine Authors: Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research