Assessment of Plutonium Exposures for an Epidemiological Study of US Nuclear Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daniels, Robert D. ; Lodwick CJ ; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K. ; Spitz HB
• Description:
  An ongoing case-control study evaluating the association between workplace external radiation exposures and leukaemia mortality required an assessment of internal plutonium exposures as a potential confounder. Of the study participants, 1092 were employed at four Department of Energy sites where plutonium-bearing materials were processed or stored. Exposures were assessed by first categorising exposure potentials based on available bioassay data, then estimating doses for workers in the highest categories using recent recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Given the aetiology of leukaemia, equivalent dose to active bone marrow was chosen as the exposure variable. There were 556 workers each with at least one plutonium bioassay result, assigned to one of three evaluation categories. Dose estimates were made for 115 workers resulting in a collective equivalent dose of 2.1 person-Sv for 2822 exposure-years, compared with 29.8 person-Sv estimated from photon exposures. Modelling uncertainties were examined by comparison of results from independent analyses and by Monte Carlo simulation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Hematologic Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Safety
• Keywords:
  Blood-disorders Cancer Cancer-rates Radiation-effects Radiation-exposure Statistical-analysis
• ISSN:
  0144-8420
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  43-55
• Volume:
  118
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028143
• Citation:
  Radiat Prot Dosim 2006 Apr; 118(1):43-55
• Contact Point Address:
  Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies (DSHEFS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 5555, Ridge Avenue, R-44 Cincinnati, OH 45213
• CAS Registry Number:
  Plutonium (CAS RN 7440-07-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Radiation Protection Dosimetry
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fc9b758b5abf61f72679c6de83799950846a7112743f6693e166e274ee443d483961d09c8809a7cc1769bcadaf6e0d425a2ae94146f195e8ddccbf31e7686920
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189792/cdc_189792_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 164.83 KB ]