Ionizing Radiation and Solid Cancer Mortality Among US Nuclear Facility Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bertke SJ ; Daniels, Robert D. ; Kelly-Reif K ; Richardson DB ; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K.
• Description:
  Background: The risk of solid cancers from low-level protracted ionizing radiation is not well characterized. Nuclear workers provide valuable information on the effects of ionizing radiation in contemporary exposure scenarios relevant to workers and the public. Methods: We evaluated the association between penetrating ionizing radiation exposure and solid cancer mortality among a pooled cohort of nuclear workers in the USA, with extended follow-up to examine cancers with long latencies. This analysis includes 101 363 workers from five nuclear facilities, with 12 069 solid cancer deaths between 1944 and 2016. The association between cumulative equivalent dose measured in sieverts (Sv) and solid cancer subtypes were modelled as the excess relative rate per Sv (ERR Sv-1) using Cox regression. Results: For the association between ionizing radiation exposure and all solid cancer mortality we observed an elevated rate (ERR Sv-1=0.19; 95% CI: -0.10, 0.52), which was higher among a contemporary sub-cohort of workers first hired in 1960 or later (ERR Sv-1= 2.23; 95% CI: 1.13, 3.49). Similarly, we observed an elevated rate for lung cancer mortality (ERR Sv-1= 0.65; 95% CI: 0.09, 1.30) that was higher among contemporary hires (ERR Sv-1= 2.90; 95% CI: 1.00, 5.26). Conclusions: Although concerns remain about confounding, measurement error and precision, this analysis strengthens the evidence base indicating there are radiogenic risks for several solid cancer types. Correction https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyae025: An error was discovered with Supplementary Table S4. The P values were all above 0.10, rendering the footnotes a through d inapplicable. This error does not affect any of the text in the article. The footnotes have been removed and the corrected supplementary file has been uploaded. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cohort Studies Epidemiology Lung Lung Diseases Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Ionizing Radiation Cancer Cancer Rates Cohort Studies Ionizing Radiation Lung Cancer Mortality Rates Nuclear Energy Nuclear Workers Pooled Study Radiation Protection

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• ISSN:
  0300-5771
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; WTCHP - World Trade Center Health Program
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067708
• Citation:
  Int J Epidemiol 2023 Aug; 52(4):1015-1024
• Contact Point Address:
  Kaitlin Kelly-Reif, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave, MS-R14, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  kkelly-reif@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Epidemiology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:27b667e0a299e642c3d5e5f0709342201cf413a838fd2e8ce21c0dfcaf20f6bbabbf0a8ed53d298a430ce4c2c476f5325bc633ca5e23022086564ad2c633a19e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229971/cdc_229971_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 436.65 KB ]