Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia and Radiation: Findings Among Workers at Five US Nuclear Facilities and a Review of the Recent Literature

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahrenholz, Steven H. ; Anderson, Jeri L. ; Burphy JS ; Couch, James R. ; Daniels, Robert D. ; Fleming DA ; Markey AM ; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K. ; Tseng, Chih-Yu ; Ahrenholz, Steven H. ; Anderson, Jeri L. ; Burphy JS ; Couch, James R. ; Daniels, Robert D. ; Fleming DA ; Markey AM ; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K. ; Tseng, Chih-Yu
• Description:
  The aetiology of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is largely unknown. Despite compelling evidence for ionising radiation as a cause of most forms of leukaemia, CLL was not found to be radiogenic in early studies. Herein we describe the recent evidence for causation of CLL by ionising and non-ionising radiation, including a nested case-control study conducted within a cohort of 94 517 US workers at four nuclear weapons facilities and a nuclear naval shipyard. Forty-three cases of CLL deaths and 172 age-matched controls were identified with follow-up up to between 1990 and 1996. Radiation exposure from external sources and plutonium (lagged 10 years) was assessed for each worker, based on monitoring records. The excess relative rate (ERR) was estimated for workers receiving elevated doses compared to unexposed workers, controlling for possible risk factors. The ERR per 10 mSv was -0·020 (95% confidence interval: <0, 0·14) based on all exposed workers. However, for workers receiving <100 mSv, the ERR per 10 mSv was 0·20 (-0·035, 0·96). Recent studies of uranium miners and other populations have shown elevations of CLL possibly associated with ionising and non-ionising radiation. New studies should use incident cases and sufficient latency to account for the expected lengthy induction period for CLL. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Hematologic Diseases Hematologic Tests Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Safety Uranium Workplace
• Keywords:
  Blood-analysis Blood-cells Blood-disorders Cancer Dose-response Radiation-contamination Statistical-analysis Uranium-compounds Work-environment
• ISSN:
  0007-1048
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Volume:
  139
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032952
• Citation:
  Br J Haematol 2007 Dec; 139(5):799-808
• Contact Point Address:
  Mary K. Schubauer-Berigan, NIOSH, DSHEFS, MS-R15, 5555 Ridge Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45213
• Email:
  zcg3@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  British Journal of Haematology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:35ca410f26f20dfedfbce105d4e8ad3b3be960fe1d38c5be3b0dcf28884a66a0aa2fb0b85aa2c5bd4c311a1f3439ad546b82ab2589afc211d8d5492b860d67bd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188707/cdc_188707_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.35 KB ]