Radiation and Mortality of Workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Positive Associations for Doses Received at Older Ages

Details

• Personal Author:
  Richardson DB ; Wing S
• Description:
  We examined associations between low-level exposure to ionizing radiation and mortality among 14,095 workers hired at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory between 1943 and 1972. Workers at the facility were individually monitored for external exposure to ionizing radiation and have been followed through 1990 to ascertain cause of death information. Positive associations were observed between low-level exposure to external ionizing radiation and mortality. These associations were larger for doses received after 45 years of age, larger under longer lag assumptions, and primarily due to cancer causes of death. All cancer mortality was estimated to increase 4.98% [standard error (SE) = 1.5] per 10-mSv cumulative dose received after age 45 under a 10-year lag, and 7.31% (SE = 2.2) per 10-mSv cumulative dose received after age 45 under a 20-year lag. Associations between radiation dose and lung cancer were of similar magnitude to associations between radiation dose and all cancers except lung cancer. Nonmalignant respiratory disease exhibited a positive association with cumulative radiation dose received after age 45, whereas ischemic heart disease exhibited no association with radiation dose. These findings suggest increases in cancer mortality associated with low-level external exposure to ionizing radiation and potentially greater sensitivity to the carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation with older ages at exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Epidemiology Laboratories Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Cancer-rates Dose-response Ionizing-radiation Laboratory-workers Malignant-neoplasms Mathematical-models Mortality-data Pulmonary-system-disorders Statistical-analysis
• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  107
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031347
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 1999 Aug; 107(8):649-656
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-8050
• Email:
  drichard@sph.unc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• End Date:
  19970630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a1e5ddad029fe2d0ce4e796ea3d5fdfb46da4445141354240dcc8d25ae03136a35e25e46466348ae4a21c111ac43b65f43101a496af51a0dc7913bb0bf9b7387
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191615/cdc_191615_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.69 MB ]