Mortality (1950–1999) and cancer incidence (1969–1999) of workers in the Port Hope cohort study exposed to a unique combination of radium, uranium and γ-ray doses

Objectives Uranium processing workers are exposed to uranium and radium compounds from the ore dust and to γ-ray radiation, but less to radon decay products (RDP), typical of the uranium miners. We examined the risks of these exposures in a cohort of workers from Port Hope radium and uranium refiner...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2013, Vol.3 (2), p.e002159
Main Authors: Zablotska, Lydia B, Lane, Rachel S D, Frost, Stanley E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Fluorides
Kidneys
Laboratory animals
Leukemia
Lung cancer
Lymphoma
Mining
Mortality
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Radiation
Social insurance numbers
Uranium
Vital statistics
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Summary:Objectives Uranium processing workers are exposed to uranium and radium compounds from the ore dust and to γ-ray radiation, but less to radon decay products (RDP), typical of the uranium miners. We examined the risks of these exposures in a cohort of workers from Port Hope radium and uranium refinery and processing plant. Design A retrospective cohort study with carefully documented exposures, which allowed separation of those with primary exposures to radium and uranium. Settings Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, uranium processors with no mining experience. Participants 3000 male and female workers first employed (1932–1980) and followed for mortality (1950–1999) and cancer incidence (1969–1999). Outcome measures Cohort mortality and incidence were compared with the general Canadian population. Poisson regression was used to evaluate the association between cumulative RDP exposures and γ-ray doses and causes of death and cancers potentially related to radium and uranium processing. Results Overall, workers had lower mortality and cancer incidence compared with the general Canadian population. In analyses restricted to men (n=2645), the person-year weighted mean cumulative RDP exposure was 15.9 working level months (WLM) and the mean cumulative whole-body γ-ray dose was 134.4 millisieverts. We observed small, non-statistically significant increases in radiation risks of mortality and incidence of lung cancer due to RDP exposures (excess relative risks/100 WLM=0.21, 95% CI
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-002159