Fernald retrospective cancer mortality
Description:
The study and its major findings:
This study of white males employed between 1951 and 1989 had a total
of 121,000 person-years of follow-up. Results for the combined cohort
showed statistically significantly elevated SMRs for all cancers
combined (1.15) and prostate cancer (1.58). Investigating SMRs
separately for salaried and nonsalaried workers, there were notable
differences between the mortality patterns of the two groups.
Salaried workers had a statistically significantly increased SMR only
for stomach cancer (2.61), as contrasted with all cancers combined
(1.21), lung cancer (1.26), and motor vehicle accidents (1.59) for
nonsalaried workers. No deaths from bone sarcomas were found in
either group. The healthy worker effect was evident in the
statistically significant all causes SMR of 0.71 for salaried workers.
The corresponding SMR for nonsalaried workers was 0.95 with an upper
confidence bound of 1.01. Dose-response relationships were found
only for cumulative external dose and lung cancer and for cumulative
internal dose and nonmalignant respiratory diseases.
General description of the files:
The demographic and work history analytic file (DLC4014) contains a
record, which includes vital status as of January 1, 1990, for each of
the 4,014 members of the cohort. There are two exposure
files. NLOEXTL contains annual deep doses in cGy (rads) from external
radiation sources, while NLOINTL contains annual calculated lung doses
in cGy from internal radiation sources.
Outcome ascertainment:
The last Social Security Administration (SSA) submission for this
population provided "alive" status as of January 1, 1985; the "alive"
category is no longer obtainable from SSA. However, the National
Death Index (NDI) provides a record of all deaths occurring since
January 1, 1979. If not identified as deceased by SSA or NDI,
individuals last known to be alive before 1/1/79 were considered lost
to follow-up on the last date known alive while those known to be
alive after 1/1/79 were considered alive at the end of the study.
There were 1,064 deaths from all causes with death certificates
available for 99.0% of these individuals.
Exposures of interest in context of operations conducted at the
facility:
The FMPC was involved in processing uranium ore concentrate and
uranium of low grade enrichment into fabricated uranium metal products
and in the production of thorium metal. Operations began in late 1951
with 85% of the cohort being hired before 1960. Employment at the
facility reached its peak in 1956 and slowly decreased until
operations halted in July of 1989. In addition to radiation and
thorium, potential exposures included kerosene, tributyl phosphate,
and other solvents.
Notes:
Earliest exposure:
01/01/1951
Latest exposure:
12/31/1989
Latest Followup:
01/01/1990
Cohort Size:
4014
Races:
White
Sexes:
Male
Diseases:
ALL
Exposure Types:
radiation, chemical
Exposure Agents:
uranium and thorium, potential exposures included kerosene, tributyl
phosphate, and other solvents
Contacts:
Dr. Donna Cragle, CRAGLED@ORAU.GOV, (615)576-2866, (615)576-9557