Dose-response relationships for female radium dial workers

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1978 · Radiat. Res.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3574786· OSTI ID:6202602

Rowland, R E; Stehney, A f; Lucas, Jr, H F

Among 1474 women employed in the United States radium dial-painting industry before 1930, there are 61 known cases of bone sarcoma and 21 cases of carcinoma of the paranasal sinuses or the mastoid air cells (''head carcinomas''). The relative effectiveness of /sup 226/Ra and /sup 228/Ra and dose-incidence relationships were examined for the 759 of these women whose radium body burden has been determined; there are 38 cases of bone sarcoma and 17 cases of head carcinoma in this group. Incidence (I) was expressed as tumor cases per person-year and the dose parameter (D) was the quantity (microcuries) of radium that entered the blood during the period of exposure. To the observed data for each type of tumor were fitted equations that can be formulated from the general form I = (C + alpha dD+ ..beta..D/sup 2/)e-..gamma../sup D/, where C, the natural incidence for this population, was about 10-/sup 5/ per person-year. For each equation, the best values of the dose coefficients were found by a least-squares fitting procedure. An equation of the form I = (C + BD/sup 2/)e-/sup ..gamma..D/ provided the best fit for the bone sarcomas, when the dose was expressed as microcuries of /sup 226/Ra plus 2.5 times microcuries of /sup 228/Ra. An acceptable fit to the head carcinoma data was provided by the linear equation I = C + d alpha ..gamma.. with D equal to microcuries of /sup 226/Ra. As a test of bias due to selection of cases with known symptoms of malignancy, the analyses were repeated after removal of all cases for whom radium was determined only after exhumation, and no significant changes in the fitted coefficients were found. The dose-incidence equations obtained when the dose was expressed as average skeletal dose in rad are also given.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL
• OSTI ID: 6202602
• Journal Information: Radiat. Res.; (United States), Journal Name: Radiat. Res.; (United States) Vol. 76:2; ISSN RAREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560161* -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Man
560171 -- Radiation Effects-- Nuclide Kinetics & Toxicology-- Man-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ADULTS
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BODY
BODY AREAS
CARCINOGENESIS
CARCINOMAS
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
CHRONIC INTAKE
CHRONIC IRRADIATION
DELAYED RADIATION EFFECTS
DIAL PAINTERS
DISEASES
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FEMALES
HAZARDS
HEAD
HEALTH HAZARDS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INGESTION
INTAKE
INTERNAL IRRADIATION
IRRADIATION
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
MAN
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEI
ORGANS
OSTEOSARCOMAS
PATHOGENESIS
PERSONNEL
PRIMATES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIOINDUCTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM 226
RADIUM 228
RADIUM ISOTOPES
SARCOMAS
SKELETAL DISEASES
SKELETON
VERTEBRATES
WOMEN
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES