Cancer Incidence among Australian Nuclear Industry Workers

Abstract

Cancer Incidence among Australian Nuclear Industry Workers: Rima R. HABIB, et al. Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon-To assess whether workers at Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre (LHSTC) had different levels of cancer incidence from the New South Wales (NSW) population in Australia. A retrospective cohort study was undertaken at LHSTC. Data on 7,076 workers employed between 1957-98 were abstracted from personnel, dosimetry, and medical files. An inception cohort was defined which included 4,523 workers in employment between 1972-96 to examine cancer incidence. Cancer registrations in the inception cohort were identified to 1996 through electronic linkage of records with the NSW and the Australian national registers of cancer incidence. Allcancer incidence in workers at LHSTC was 15% below the NSW rates [SIR=0.85; 95% CI=(0.75, 0.95)]. Of 37 specific cancers and groups of cancers examined, statistically significant excesses relative to NSW rates were observed only for pleural cancer incidence [SIR=17.71; 95%=(7.96, 39.43)], and for incidence of cancer of the small intestine [SIR=4.34; 95% CI=(1.40, 13.46)]. This study gives little evidence of an increased risk of cancers associated with radiation exposure in a cohort of nuclear workers in Australia. The observed increase in the risk of cancer of the pleura was probably due to unmeasured exposures, given the lack of an established association with radiation exposure, and the strong link to asbestos exposure. Findings for cancers of the small intestine were based on small numbers and were likely to be due to chance. (J Occup Health 2006; 48: 358-365)

A Cohort Study of Korean Radiation Workers: Baseline Characteristics of Participants

“…Moreover, a tendency of a low SIR for all cancers combined, excluding thyroid cancer, was observed for all occupation types and in both, the exposed and non-exposed groups, implying a healthy worker effect [24,25]. This is a typical phenomenon in occupational cohort studies, and other studies also reported low cancer incidences or mortality among radiation workers [4,[26][27][28][29][30][31]. In the present study, our cohort included active workers during the follow-up period for cancer incidence, and therefore they were presumed to mostly have a good health status.…”

Mortality Among Workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

“…SMRs for cancer of the pleura, a disease strongly related to asbestos exposure, were elevated among hourly-and weekly-paid men (Table II), during 1980-1999 (Table IV), and among men who were employed at other US DOE facilities in addition to ORNL. Excess mortality due to pleural cancer has also been observed among workers at the Savannah River Site, another nuclear weapons plant in the southeastern USA; and, an excess of deaths due to pleural cancer has been reported among nuclear workers at a national laboratory in Australia [Habib et al, 2005[Habib et al, , 2006, nuclear facilities in the United Kingdom [Muirhead et al, 1999;Omar et al, 1999;Binks, 2000, 2001], and France [Telle-Lamberton et al, 2004]. Previous studies have found that deaths due to malignant mesothelioma often accounted for the majority of deaths classified as pleural cancer [Steenland et al, 1990;Robinson et al, 2006].…”

Mortality among workers at the Savannah River Site

“…Among the seven SRS workers who died of pleural cancer, four were mechanics, one was an engineer, one was a technician, and one was a power plant operator; all were hired prior to 1955 with a median age at hire of 28 years. Excesses of cancer of the pleura have been observed in other nuclear worker cohorts, including studies of workers in Australia [Habib et al, 2005[Habib et al, , 2006, the United Kingdom [Muirhead et al, 1999;Omar et al, 1999;Binks, 2000, 2001], and France [Telle-Lamberton et al, 2004]. Asbestos exposure is also associated with cancer of the peritoneum.…”