A cohort mortality study of chemical laboratory workers at Department of Energy Nuclear Plants

Abstract

While lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer mortality was below expectation, a significant elevation of multiple myeloma deaths among females and an elevation of leukemia among workers employed 20+ years (possibly due to radiation and benzene exposure) were observed. A NIOSH case-control study is underway to examine more closely the relation between multiple myeloma and a variety of chemical exposures among workers employed at the Oak Ridge K-25 facility.

Cohort mortality study of garment industry workers exposed to formaldehyde: Update and internal comparisons

“…Duration of exposure was lagged by 2 years for leukemia outcomes and 10 years for other lymphohematopoietic cancers, all solid cancers, and COPD. For leukemia, a 2‐year lag period was selected to be consistent with the leukemia literature [Kubale et al, ; Richardson et al, ; Beane Freeman et al, ; Metz‐Flamant et al, ] particularly the NCI study. Evaluation of different lag periods using a goodness of fit criterion is not informative in studies such as ours which used duration of exposure as the exposure metric since there is no within‐person exposure variability over the exposure period [Richardson et al, ].…”

Work-related leukemia: a systematic review

“…Of the published epidemiological studies that investigated potential associations of leukemia with specific occupational groups over the last 5 years, a statistically significant increase in mortality from leukemia has been recorded among the personnel of chemical laboratories [84] and oil processing facilities [86], while no increased risk for leukemia was shown for firefighters [85] and tannery workers [88]. In 2 epidemiological studies conducted among healthcare personnel, no increased risk for leukemia was shown for the group of nurses [81] and neurosurgeons [83] while the findings of a third study which has shown increased mortality from CLL among nurses may be strongly affected by overdiagnosis of the disease due to the increased health awareness of the specific group [82].…”