Analysis of mortality in a pooled cohort of Canadian and German uranium processing workers with no mining experience.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Long-term health risks of occupational exposures to uranium processing were examined to better understand potential differences with uranium underground miners and nuclear reactor workers.

Methods

A cohort study of mortality of workers from Port Hope, Canada (1950-1999) and Wismut, Germany (1946-2008) employed in uranium milling, refining, and processing was conducted. Poisson regression was used to evaluate the association between cumulative exposures to radon decay products (RDP) and gamma-rays and causes of death potentially related to uranium processing.

Results

The pooled cohort included 7431 workers (270,201 person-years of follow-up). Mean RDP exposures were lower than in miners while gamma-ray doses were higher than in reactor workers. Both exposures w

SUBMITTER: Zablotska LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5752750 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature