Cerebrovascular diseases in nuclear workers first employed at the Mayak PA in 1948–1972

• Published in: Radiation and environmental biophysics 2011-11, Vol.50 (4), p.539-552
• Main Authors: Azizova, Tamara V., Muirhead, Colin R., Moseeva, Maria B., Grigoryeva, Evgenia S., Sumina, Margarita V., O’Hagan, Jacqueline, Zhang, Wei, Haylock, Richard J. G. E., Hunter, Nezahat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alpha Particles - adverse effects; Alpha radiation; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; Cerebrovascular Disorders - epidemiology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - etiology; Cerebrovascular Disorders - mortality; Cohort Studies; Disease prevention; Ecosystems; Effects of Radiation/Radiation Protection; Environmental Physics; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gamma rays; Gamma Rays - adverse effects; Health risks; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Mortality risk; Nuclear accidents & safety; Nuclear Power Plants; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational hazards; Occupational safety; Original Paper; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Radiation Dosage; Radiation standards; Risk; Russia - epidemiology; Workers; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0301-634X; 1432-2099
• DOI: 10.1007/s00411-011-0377-6

Incidence and mortality from cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) (430–438 ICD-9 codes) have been studied in a cohort of 18,763 workers first employed at the Mayak Production Association (Mayak PA) in 1948–1972 and followed up to the end of 2005. Some of the workers were exposed to external gamma-rays only while others were exposed to a mixture of external gamma-rays and internal alpha-particle radiation due to incorporated 239 Pu. After adjusting for non-radiation factors, there were significantly increasing trends in CVD incidence with total absorbed dose from external gamma-rays and total absorbed dose to liver from internal alpha radiation. The CVD incidence was statistically significantly higher among workers with total absorbed external gamma-ray doses greater than 0.20 Gy compared to those exposed to lower doses; the data were consistent with a linear trend in risk with external dose. The CVD incidence was statistically significantly higher among workers with total absorbed internal alpha-radiation doses to liver from incorporated 239 Pu greater than 0.025 Gy compared to those exposed to lower doses. There was no statistically significant trend in CVD mortality risk with either external gamma-ray dose or internal alpha-radiation dose to liver. The risk estimates obtained are generally compatible with those from other large occupational studies, although the incidence data point to higher risk estimates compared to those from the Japanese A-bomb survivors. Further studies of the unique cohort of Mayak workers chronically exposed to external and internal radiation will allow improving the reliability and validating the radiation safety standards for occupational and public exposure.