Radon and cancers other than lung cancer in underground miners: a collaborative analysis of 11 studies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Darby SC ; Howe GR ; Hutchings SJ ; Kusiak RA ; Lubin JH ; Morrison HI ; Radford EP ; Roscoe, Robert J. ; Samet JM ; Tirmarche M ; Tomasek L ; Whitley E ; Yao SX
• Description:
  A study was conducted to further characterize the risks for cancers other than lung cancer from atmospheric radon (10043922). The 11 studies from which data were taken included 64,209 men, followed for 16.9 years on average. The overall average length of employment in the mines was 6.4 years, but it varied from 1.7 to 18.7 years. For all nonlung cancer causes of death combined, mortality was close to that expected based on mortality rates in the areas surrounding the mines. Mortality did not increase with increasing cumulative exposure. Among 28 individual cancer categories, statistically significant increases in mortality for cancers of the stomach and liver and statistically significant decreases for cancers of the tongue and mouth, pharynx, and colon were observed. For leukemia, mortality was increased in the period less than 10 years since starting work. Mortality was not significantly related to cumulative exposure for these diseases just noted. For death from cancer of the pancreas, mortality was related to cumulative exposure. The authors conclude that the increased mortality from stomach and liver cancers and leukemia are not likely to have been caused by radon, as they were not related to cumulative exposure. High concentrations of radon in the air apparently do not cause a material risk of mortality from cancers other than lung cancer. The authors suggest that protection standards for radon continue to be based on consideration of the lung cancer risk alone. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Epidemiology Lung Diseases Mining Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Cancer-rates Lung-disease Miners Mining-industry Mortality-surveys NIOSH-Author Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Underground-miners
• ISSN:
  0027-8874
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; New Mexico ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6
• 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:
  378-384
• Volume:
  87
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00225317
• Citation:
  J Natl Cancer Inst 1995 Mar; 87(5):378-384
• CAS Registry Number:
  Radon (CAS RN 10043-92-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the National Cancer Institute
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:160c38e7873ddda408ec045a48a4efac0275373f3cf6102235aafbbc0c41fd6c8ef0718cb24cff32480fc8beeb37e0de0180cf0f01fdb9bf3e04824d35a11d29
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205451/cdc_205451_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 729.86 KB ]