Effects of Exposure to External Ionizing Radiation on Cancer Mortality in Nuclear Workers Monitored for Radiation at Rocketdyne/Atomics International

Details

• Personal Author:
  Batts Young B ; Froines J ; Morgenstern S ; Ritz B
• Description:
  Background and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to estimate the effects of low-level exposure to external (penetrating) radiation on cancer mortality among 4,563 workers monitored for external radiation between 1950 and 1993 at a nuclear research and production facility in Southern California. Results: Of the 875 deaths that occurred before 1995, 258 were due to cancer as the underlying cause. External comparisons of male subjects with the U.S. white male population indicated that the workers had lower rates of dying from all causes and all cancers, but a higher rate of dying from leukemia. Internal comparisons of workers exposed at different dose levels, using risk-set analyses with adjustment for confounders, demonstrated an increased mortality rate in workers exposed to 200 mSv for hemato- and lymphopoietic cancers and for lung cancer. Mortality rates for total cancers and "radiosensitive" solid cancers increased monotonically with cumulative radiation dose, but no trends were observed for "nonradiosensitive" cancers. Conclusions: Despite possible residual confounding and low precision for estimating effects on specific cancers, these findings indicate that chronic, low-level radiation exposure may have more generalized carcinogenic effects than have been observed in most previous investigations. Such effects may have become evident as a result of the relatively long follow-up period in the present study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cohort Studies Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cancer Mortality Cancer Rates Cohort Studies Exposure Assessment Ionizing Radiation Leukemia Lung Cancer Mortality Rates Nuclear Radiation Nuclear Workers Occupational Epidemiology Radiation Exposure Radiation Facilities Retrospective Cohort Study

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  21-31
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057915
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1999 Jan; 35(1):21-31
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Beate Ritz, Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772
• Email:
  Britz@ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20040630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1ebf3be31c334023f9f739b1376ff9cb38b44092ddde7472f1cda452e324f2b1d6df9237847d93862cb2d9a10801d076abc8526c155a8683a6d947c42689fbdc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215119/cdc_215119_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 120.53 KB ]