The LAFACW01 data set consists of four related working files that were generated by the Epidemiology Section at LANL for mortality studies of workers employed at LANL. Data were obtained in various formats and media from different LANL departments and other agencies. Personnel data were abstracted from microfiche copies of each worker's personnel records. Supplemental data were obtained from LANL's security badge book, personnel security questionnaires, LANL medical records, and personnel records from other employers under study by LANL. Death information was abstracted from death certificates obtained from various states. Computerized external ionizing radiation data, plutonium bioassay results, and estimated plutonium body burdens were obtained from LANL health physics.
The four files in the LAFACW01 data set are segregated by type of data: demographic, external exposure, plutonium bioassay results, and plutonium depositions. Data pertaining to an individual that appear in one or more files may be linked by the individual pseudo- identifier number assigned to each worker.
The first working file (LAPFILE) contains demographic information, including birth and death dates, race, sex, work histories, coded cause of death, and state of death. The file includes 23,240 workers hired between 1943 and 1978, inclusive. A few later hires are also included. The file includes 6,803 females, 16,317 males and 120 workers with unknown sex. Race was determined for 68% of the workers. A roster of LANL workers was submitted to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for vital status ascertainment. Information on vital status through December 31, 1983, was obtained in 1987. There are 3,368 deaths identified in this working file. Cause of death information (ICDA-8) is not available for 122 deaths.
The second file (LAEFILE) contains external radiation exposure data consisting of annual whole-body doses, in centirem, where the whole-body dose was defined to be the sum of gamma, neutron, and tritium doses. During the early years of the monitoring programs, 1943 to 1945, pocket chambers were used to measure exposure to radiation, and no official records of these early readings exist with the current LANL health physics group. Film dosimeters (badges) were used to measure exposures from 1944 through 1979, when thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) replaced them. This file contains 97,309 records of exposure data from 1944 through 1985 for 11,917 monitored workers. These data include all measurements for individuals while working at LANL. Workers who were employed both at LANL and by a contractor may have measurements for both periods of employment. Therefore, all measurements in this file may not fall within a worker's period of employment at LANL.
The third working file (LABFILE) contains plutonium bioassay data for 1944 through October 1985. There are 73,908 records for 4,358 individuals. Measurements in 1944 are for nose swipes or urine samples. In March 1945, a formal bioassay program was established. Before 1968, all urine bioassay results were for plutonium-239 because that was the isotope used in that time frame. After then, the results are labelled as plutonium-238 or plutonium-239. Until 1952, results were units of cpm/24 hours; from 1952 through 1977, they were dpm/24 hours; and from 1977 to 1985, they were pCi/24 hours. Generally, they are annual measurements, but some individuals have multiple readings for one plutonium isotope within a year and some have separate readings for both isotopes within a year. All measurements are included in the file for each monitored worker. Some workers may have measurements that do not fall within the LANL period of employment.
The fourth working file (LACFILE) contains estimated plutonium whole-body burdens as of January 1, 1987. There are 6,902 records for 4,329 individuals. Results are given separately for the two isotopes of plutonium (238 and 239) in units of nanocuries (nCi) and nCi- years. The computer code PUQFUA was utilized at LANL to estimate plutonium body burdens using bioassay data.