A mortality study was made of a group of 3414 white underground uranium miners. There were 398deaths observed vs. 25 1 deaths expected on the basis of rates for thewhile male population of the area. Violent deaths (120 vs. 50.5 expected) and malignant neoplasms of the respiratory system (62 vs. 10 expected) largely accounted for the excess. Most of the respiratory cancer deaths occurred 10 or more years after the individual first mined uranium. KO excess occurred in the first 5 yr after start of mining. The person years of followup were divided into six cumulative exposure levels. At each level of estimated radiation exposure, a significant excess of respiratory cancer has now been observed. Beginning with the 840-1799 WLM category, the excess of respiratory cancer deaths was markedly progressive with increasing exposure. Below 840 WLM, the excess has occurred equally among 3 exposure groups. Prior hard-rock mining had little overall effect on lung cancer mortality, but might have contributed to the excess among the two lowest exposure categories. It is estimated that smoking uranium miners experienced an excess of lung cancer 10 times grcater than did non-smoking miners. While smoking alone could not explain the marked excess of lung cancer, the data suggested that uranium miners should not smoke.
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