Estimation of radiation doses to the lungs of early uranium processing plant workers

Reconstructed lung doses for the million person study cohort of 26,650 Tennessee Eastman corporation workers employed between 1942 and 1947

“…Lung doses for TEC men were estimated based on a 30 year commitment period as part of a more extensive epidemiology study [ 8 ]. These lung doses were calculated based on exposure to uranium dust based on time spent at the plant, the solubility of inhaled material, isotopic enrichment, and airborne concentrations of uranium.…”

“…Several relevant variables were checked in the Polednak et al [ 8 ] study from original TEC payroll records. All chemical workers were verified as having worked in chemical departments, and only a few significant errors were found.…”

“…Occupational breathing rates for men and women were assumed to be 28.8 and 27.3 m 3 d −1 [15,16]. The average airborne uranium concentration in Bq per m 3 was derived and described in previous studies [8,17]. The extensive information available on the behaviour of uranium after deposition in the human respiratory tract has been summarized in the ICRP Publication 137 on the occupational intakes of radionuclides: Part 3 [13].…”

“…Tens of thousands of TEC workers were exposed to internal radiation hazards from inhaling uranium oxide, uranium chloride, or uranium fluoride [4]. Previous epidemiological studies [5][6][7][8] estimated the radiation doses of this worker cohort. However, these estimates were based on outdated dosimetric frameworks and have been applied to small groups of workers, such as only white males or workers selected for a case-control study.…”