The influence of radiation and nonradiation factors on the lung cancer incidence among the workers of the nuclear enterprise Mayak

Journal Article · Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1995 · Health Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199509000-00007· OSTI ID:229660

Tokarskaya, Z B; Okladnikova, N D; Belyaeva, Z D; Drozhko, E G ^[1]

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1. Biophysical Institute, Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation)

For the estimation of radiation lung cancer risk for a human being it is important to take into account different etiological factors because of the polyetiology of this disease. This work was the aim of a retrospective investigation ({open_quotes}case-control{close_quotes}) of 500 workers of a nuclear enterprise that had been gamma-irradiated in a wide dose range and had had exposure to airborne {sup 239}Pu. One hundred sixty-two persons contracted lung cancer (morbidity), and 338 persons that had not fallen ill served as pair control. Eleven potential risk factors were evaluated using a logistic regression model, five insignificant factors were excluded, and the remaining factors were arranged (by odds ratio) in decreasing order: smoking > plutonium pneumosclerosis > plutonium incorporation in body > chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) > decrease of body mass > external gamma-irradiation. The percentage of histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma among the nuclear enterprise workers was 74% which is significantly higher than 33% among the population that did not work at the enterprise, particularly in the case of high (more than 11 kBq) plutonium incorporation by the nuclear workers. The localization of tumors in this cohort is more frequently in the lower and middle lung lobes at the periphery. Each of the histological types of lung cancer has manifested a different degree of correlation with particular factors. 32 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 229660
• Journal Information: Health Physics, Vol. 69, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1995
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
05 NUCLEAR FUELS
PLUTONIUM 239
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
TOBACCO PRODUCTS
CORRELATIONS
LUNGS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
GAMMA RADIATION
DISEASES
RISK ASSESSMENT
NEOPLASMS
MORTALITY
TOBACCO SMOKES
CARCINOMAS
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
MAN
FUEL CYCLE CENTERS
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
BIOLOGICAL LOCALIZATION