Lung cancer mortality among nonsmoking uranium miners exposed to radon daughters

Journal Article · Fri Aug 04 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · JAMA, J. Am. Med. Assoc.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.262.5.629· OSTI ID:5596613

Roscoe, R J; Steenland, K; Halperin, W E; Beaumont, J J; Waxweiler, R J

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), Journal Name: JAMA, J. Am. Med. Assoc.; (United States) Vol. 262:5; ISSN JAMAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560161* -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOLS
BODY
CARCINOGENESIS
COLLOIDS
COLORADO
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
DISEASES
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FLUIDS
GASES
ISOTOPES
LUNGS
MINES
MORTALITY
NEOPLASMS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
RADIOINDUCTION
RADON
RARE GASES
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RISK ASSESSMENT
SMOKES
SOLS
TOBACCO SMOKES
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
URANIUM MINES
USA