Cancer mortality and morbidity among workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels

Douglas, A. J.; Omar, Rumana; Smith, P. G.

doi:10.1038/bjc.1994.479

Cited by 56 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…No significant associations were reported in Sellafield, Atomic Weapons Establishment, Hanford, Japanese, or combined US, UK and Canadian cohorts. [305][306][307][308][309][310][311][312] Furthermore, there were no trends in NHL risk based on cumulative radiation dose in these cohorts. Other studies have reported no significant associations among US military personnel who participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, 313 participants in the UK atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, 314 residents living near nuclear installations, 315,316 uranium miners, 317 dental workers 318 or cohort members of the National Dose Registry of Canada.…”

Section: Radiation Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

et al. 2007

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Section: Radiation Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

et al. 2007

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“…We have described previously the study population, the nature and source of external radiation exposure data and the methods used to determine the vital status, causes of death and cancer registrations (Smith and Douglas, 1986;Douglas et al, 1994). We summarize this information briefly below, together with the details of plutonium exposure and the methods used to derive estimates of plutonium uptake and organ-specific doses.…”

Section: Population and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The possible carcinogenic effects of exposure to external sources of radiation among nuclear workers have been the subject of a large number of studies (Kendall et al, 1992;Gilbert et al, 1993;Carpenter et al, 1994;Cardis et al, 1995), but there have been few studies of internal exposure to radionuclides among these groups. We have reported previously on mortality and cancer morbidity among workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) (Smith and Douglas, 1986;Douglas et al, 1994). We examined possible risks associated with exposure to external radiation, but at these times the data available on exposure to radionuclides were inadequate for detailed analysis.…”

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confidence: 99%

Cancer mortality and morbidity among plutonium workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels

1999

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SummaryThe mortality of all 14 319 workers employed at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels between 1947 and 1975 was studied up to the end of 1992, and cancer incidence was examined from 1971 to 1986, in relation to their exposures to plutonium and to external radiation. The cancer mortality rate was 5% lower than that of England and Wales and 3% less than that of Cumbria. The significant excesses of deaths from cancer of the pleura and thyroid found in an earlier study persist with further follow-up (14 observed, 4.0 expected for pleura; 6 observed, 2.2 expected for thyroid). All of the deaths from pleural cancer were among radiation workers. For neither site was there a significant association between the risk of the cancer and accumulated radiation dose. There were significant deficits of deaths from cancers of mouth and pharynx, liver and gall bladder, and larynx and leukaemia when compared with the national rates. Among all radiation workers, there was a significant positive association between accumulated external radiation dose and mortality from cancers of ill-defined and secondary sites (10-year lag, P = 0.04), leukaemia (no lag, P = 0.03; 2-year lag, P = 0.05), multiple myeloma (20-year lag, P = 0.02), all lymphatic and haematopoietic cancers (20-year lag, P = 0.03) and all causes of death combined (20-year lag, P = 0.008). Among plutonium workers, there were significant excesses of deaths from cancer of the breast (6 observed, 2.6 expected) and ill-defined and secondary cancers (29 observed, 20.1 expected). No significant positive trends were observed between the risk of deaths from cancers of any specific site, or all cancers combined, and cumulative plutonium and external radiation doses. For no cancer site was there a significant excess of cancer registrations compared with rates for England and Wales. Analysis of trends in cancer incidence showed significant increases in risk with cumulative plutonium plus external radiation doses for all lymphatic and haematopoietic neoplasms for 0-, 10-and 20-year lag periods. Taken as a whole, our findings do not suggest that workers at Sellafield who have been exposed to plutonium are at an overall significantly increased risk of cancer compared with other radiation workers.Keywords: radiation; plutonium; nuclear workers; cohort; mortality; cancer incidence 1288British Journal of Cancer (1999) 79(7/8), 1288-1301 © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign Article no. bjoc.1998 Received 18 May 1998 Accepted 27 May 1998 Correspondence to: PG Smith *Present address: Department of Medical Statistics and Evaluation, Imperial College School of Medicine, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK. Cancer risks among plutonium workers 1289British Journal of Cancer (1999) 79(7/8), 1288-1301 © Cancer Research Campaign 1999 plutonium since it was first produced in the plant. The most likely route of exposure has been through inhalation, and monitoring has been conducted principally through the analysis of urine samples collected from workers. These monitoring data have been ass...

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“…These databases are of a generally high quality, not only because radiation dose records have to be maintained for United Kingdom regulatory purposes, but also because the data have been used previously for several large epidemiological studies of the workers themselves. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Data were supplied for all those responding who had ever had, or who had ever attempted to have, children, and were linked by computer to the cleaned, coded, and validated questionnaire based data with the subjects' unique personal identifiers. Thus the researchers were blind to the occupational exposure status of the workers when collecting data on reproduction and child health outcomes.…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1-4 6 8 10 14 Generally, when an occupational hazard is suspected the health of the workers in the industries concerned is studied directly: for example, within the nuclear industry, several cohort studies have investigated the relation between cancer and mortality in relation to exposure to ionising radiation at work. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The nuclear industry family study takes this one step further, linking the occupational exposure of workers to their pregnancies and the health of their children.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear industry family study: methods and description of a United Kingdom study linking occupational information held by employers to reproduction and child health

Maconochie

Doyle

Roman

et al. 1999

Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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Objectives-To describe the methods used in the nuclear industry family study for which a comprehensive database has been assembled that links employment in the nuclear industry and dosimetry records to information on employees' reproductive health and the health of their children. To discuss the response rates and characteristics of the study population. Methods-Occupational cohort design leading to a retrospective cohort study of reproductive outcomes reported by 46 396 current and former employees of both sexes in the nuclear industry. Employees of nuclear establishments in the United Kingdom operated by the Atomic Energy Authority, the Atomic Weapons Establishment, and British Nuclear Fuels were surveyed with postal questionnaires to collect information on pregnancies, children, and periods of infertility. Information on employment and monitoring for ionising radiation was supplied by the employing nuclear authority and was linked to pregnancies and periods of infertility with unique personal identification numbers. Results-The design and completion of this study resulted in high quality data on a representative population of the Atomic Energy Authority, Atomic Weapons Establishment, and British Nuclear Fuels workforces. The response to the survey was extremely good (82% for male workers and 88% for female workers, excluding undelivered questionnaires), and a unique relational database has been created which will enable infertility, pregnancy, and child health outcomes to be examined with respect to the employment and radiation monitoring characteristics of parents. Conclusion-This is the first United Kingdom study to link detailed reproductive history data to occupational information held by employers. The methods developed for the study were found to be feasible and successful. The design can be adapted for other investigations of reproductive hazards to men and women in the workplace and is currently in use to survey over 100 000 armed forces personnel in an investigation of reproductive outcome among veterans of the Gulf war. (Occup Environ Med 1999;56:793-801)

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Cancer mortality and morbidity among workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels

Cited by 56 publications

References 13 publications

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas: A review of the epidemiologic literature

Cancer mortality and morbidity among plutonium workers at the Sellafield plant of British Nuclear Fuels

Nuclear industry family study: methods and description of a United Kingdom study linking occupational information held by employers to reproduction and child health

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