Mortality among uranium enrichment workers

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6452110

Brown, D P; Bloom, T

A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted on workers at the Portsmouth Uranium Enrichment facility in Pike County, Ohio, in response to a request from the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Local 3-689 for information on long-term health effects. Primary hazards included inhalation exposure to uranyl fluoride containing uranium-235 and uranium-234, technetium-99 compounds, and hydrogen-fluoride. Uranium-238 presented a nephrotoxic hazard. Statistically significant mortality deficits based on U.S. death rates were found for all causes, accidents, violence, and diseases of nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Standardized mortality rates were 85 and 54 for all malignant neoplasms and for other genitourinary diseases, respectively. Deaths from stomach cancer and lymphatic/hematopoietic cancers were insignificantly increased. A subcohort selected for greatest potential uranium exposure has reduced deaths from these malignancies. Insignificantly increased stomach cancer mortality was found after 15 years employment and after 15 years latency. Routine urinalysis data suggested low internal uranium exposures.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6452110
• Report Number(s): PB-87-188991/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050500* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Uranium Enrichment
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
550900 -- Pathology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
AIR POLLUTION
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
HYDROFLUORIC ACID
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INORGANIC ACIDS
INSPECTION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPE SEPARATION PLANTS
ISOTOPES
MATERIALS
MEDICINE
METALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MORTALITY
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PERSONNEL
POLLUTION
PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT
RADIOISOTOPES
TECHNETIUM 99
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
TOXICITY
URANIUM
URANIUM 234
URANIUM 235
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM ISOTOPES
URANYL COMPOUNDS
URANYL FLUORIDES
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES