Lung cancer mortality among nonsmoking uranium miners exposed to radon daughters
Radon daughters, both in the workplace and in the household, are a continuing cause for concern because of the well-documented association between exposure to radon daughters and lung cancer. To estimate the risk of lung cancer mortality among nonsmokers exposed to varying levels of radon daughters, 516 white men who never smoked cigarettes, pipes, or cigars were selected from the US Public Health Service cohort of Colorado Plateau uranium miners and followed up from 1950 through 1984. Age-specific mortality rates for nonsmokers from a study of US veterans were used for comparison. Fourteen deaths from lung cancer were observed among the nonsmoking miners, while 1.1 deaths were expected, yielding a standardized mortality ratio of 12.7 with 95% confidence limits of 8.0 and 20.1. These results confirm that exposure to radon daughters in the absence of cigarette smoking is a potent carcinogen that should be strictly controlled.
- Research Organization:
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5596613
- Journal Information:
- JAMA, J. Am. Med. Assoc.; (United States), Vol. 262:5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
LUNGS
NEOPLASMS
RADIOINDUCTION
RADON
CARCINOGENESIS
COLORADO
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
MORTALITY
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
RISK ASSESSMENT
TOBACCO SMOKES
URANIUM MINES
AEROSOLS
BODY
COLLOIDS
DISEASES
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FLUIDS
GASES
ISOTOPES
MINES
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
RARE GASES
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SMOKES
SOLS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
USA
560161* - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology- Man