Updated mortality analysis of the Mallinckrodt uranium processing workers, 1942–2012

Golden, Ashley P.; Ellis, Elizabeth D.; Cohen, Sarah S.; Mumma, Michael T.; Leggett, Richard W.; Wallace, Phillip W.; Girardi, David J.; Watkins, Janice P.; Shore, Roy E.; Boice, John D.

doi:10.1080/09553002.2019.1569773

Cited by 40 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In addition, its tissue distribution is heterogeneous, mostly accumulating and producing pathological lesions in the proximal tubule located in the cortical zone (uranium concentration 100-fold above mean renal concentration) [6][7][8]. Chronic exposure (occupational exposure) to uranium could be related to its bioaccumulation in the kidney and associated with renal dysfunction and an increased risk of cancer mortality and kidney failure [9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel calibration strategy based on internal standard–spiked gelatine for quantitative bio-imaging by LA-ICP-MS: application to renal localization and quantification of uranium

et al. 2020

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Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been employed for the elemental bio-distribution and quantification of uranium (U) in histological tissue sections of rodent kidneys. Kidneys were immediately immersed into 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) solution for 24 h, Tissue-Tek O.C.T. Compound embedded and stored at − 80°C until cutting in a cryostat, and mounted in gel-covered glass slides. In order to assure complete ablation of sample, sample preparation and laser conditions were carefully optimized. In this work, a new analytical methodology is presented for performing quantitative laser ablation analyses based on internal standard (thulium, Tm)-spiked gelatine (10% m/v) for correction of matrix effects, lack of tissue homogeneity, and instrumental drift. In parallel, matrix-matched laboratory standards, dosed at different concentrations of U, were prepared from a pool of rat kidneys. The quantitative images of cryosections revealed heterogeneous distribution of uranium within the renal tissue, because the cortical concentration was up to 120fold higher than the medullary concentration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel calibration strategy based on internal standard–spiked gelatine for quantitative bio-imaging by LA-ICP-MS: application to renal localization and quantification of uranium

et al. 2020

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“…The Mallinckrodt Chemical Works (Mallinckrodt) study cohort included 2514 white male workers employed at least 30 days between 1942 and 1966, which comprises the entire period of uranium processing operations (Dupree-Ellis et al 2000;Boice et al 2018;Ellis et al 2018;Golden et al 2019). Females and nonwhite workers were excluded because of small numbers.…”

Section: Mallinckrodt Chemical Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the $500,000 North American workers involved in nuclear fuel production (Bouville and Kryuchkov 2014), only 10-15% have been involved in uranium processing. These workers have been previously described in eight North American studies (Table 1) (Dupree et al 1987;Dupree-Ellis et al 2000;Pinkerton et al 2004;Boice et al 2007Boice et al , 2008Silver et al 2013;Zablotska et al 2013;Golden et al 2019). These workers are a distinct group because their cumulative external gamma exposures are 4-5 times higher than those of nuclear workers (100 millisievert (mSv) vs. 20 mSv (Richardson et al 2015)) and their RDP exposures are 4-5 times lower than those of uranium miners (20 working level months (WLM) vs. 90 WLM (Lubin et al 1995)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…uranium enrichment workers), and they should be carefully evaluated in separate studies. To date, only a few studies have conducted dose-response analyses of uranium processing workers with individual radiation doses (Dupree-Ellis et al 2000;Guseva Canu et al 2010;Silver et al 2013;Zablotska et al 2013;Gillies and Haylock 2014;Kreuzer et al 2015;Zablotska et al 2018;Zhivin et al 2018;Golden et al 2019). A limited number of these studies estimated individual doses from uranium or other radionuclides (Silver et al 2013;Kreuzer et al 2015;Zhivin et al 2018;Golden et al 2019), and study findings were constrained by relatively small sample sizes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these eight studies, we identified four cohorts with at least two of the following exposures necessary for risk estimation in a pooled analysis: assessed individual internal uranium, radium, RDP exposures, and external radiation doses. In this pooled analysis we included the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center in Ohio (Hornung et al 2008;Anderson et al 2012;Silver et al 2013), Mallinckrodt Chemical Works Uranium Division in Missouri (Dupree-Ellis et al 2000;Golden et al 2019), the Middlesex Sampling Plant in New Jersey (Eisenbud 1975), and the Port Hope radium and uranium refinery and processing plant in Canada (Zablotska et al 2013(Zablotska et al , 2018. The unifying feature of these four cohorts is that they all belonged to a network of plants that provided the uranium needed by the United States during World War II and the Cold War era (Eisenbud 1975).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cohort profile: four early uranium processing facilities in the US and Canada

Golden

Milder

Ellis

et al. 2021

International Journal of Radiation Biology

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Purpose: Pooling of individual-level data for workers involved in uranium refining and processing (excluding enrichment) may provide valuable insights into risks from occupational uranium and external ionizing radiation exposures. Methods: Data were pooled for workers from four uranium processing facilities (Fernald, Mallinckrodt and Middlesex from the U.S.; and Port Hope, Canada). Employment began as early as the 1930s and follow-up was as late as 2017. Workers were exposed to high concentrations of uranium, radium, and their decay products, as well as gamma radiation and ambient radon decay products. Exposure and outcome data were harmonized using similar definitions and dose reconstruction methods. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were estimated. Results: In total, 560 deaths from lung cancer, 503 non-malignant respiratory diseases, 67 renal diseases, 1,596 ischemic heart diseases, and 101 dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) were detected in the pooled cohort of over 12,400 workers ($1,300 females). Mean cumulative doses were 45 millisievert for whole-body external ionizing radiation exposure and 172 milligray for lung dose from radon decay products. Only SMR for dementia and AD among males was statistically significant (SMR=1.29; 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.54). Conclusions: This is the largest study to date to examine long-term health risks of uranium processing workers.

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Site-specific concentration of uranium in urine of workers of the hydrometallurgical plant of Stepnogorsk mining and chemical combine

Aumalikova

Bakhtin

Kazymbet

et al. 2020

Radiat Environ Biophys

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Updated mortality analysis of the Mallinckrodt uranium processing workers, 1942–2012

Cited by 40 publications

References 70 publications

A novel calibration strategy based on internal standard–spiked gelatine for quantitative bio-imaging by LA-ICP-MS: application to renal localization and quantification of uranium

A novel calibration strategy based on internal standard–spiked gelatine for quantitative bio-imaging by LA-ICP-MS: application to renal localization and quantification of uranium

Cohort profile: four early uranium processing facilities in the US and Canada

Site-specific concentration of uranium in urine of workers of the hydrometallurgical plant of Stepnogorsk mining and chemical combine

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