Study: Cancer in workers elevated at SRS

Those who worked at the Savannah River Site and other parts of the nation's weapons complex are at an elevated risk for developing cancer, according to a new study.

This finding came from a study of older construction workers at four U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex sites. It found an increased risk of developing cancer for Site workers, especially for construction workers who worked prior to the 1980s.

Conducted at institutions including Duke University and the University of Cincinnati, the study found that trade workers at SRS, Hanford in Washington, Oak Ridge in Tennessee and the Amchitka site in Alaska had significantly elevated asbestos-related cancers.

The study was funded by DOE and was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, a medical publication.

DOE established medical screening programs at the four sites starting in 1996. Workers participating in these programs have been followed to determine their vital status and mortality experience through Dec. 31, 2004.

According to the study, 8,976 former construction workers from Hanford, SRS, Oak Ridge and Amchitka were followed using the National Death Index to ascertain vital status and causes of death.

Researchers identified 674 deaths among the overall group - slightly less than expected - but notably a significantly higher death rate among those identified as asbestos workers and insulators. The incident of cancer was elevated at all four sites with the highest rates at SRS.

"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was significantly elevated among workers at the Savannah River Site," according to the study.

DOE construction workers at these four sites were found to have significantly increased risk of asbestos-related cancers.

The elevated risk was linked to significant past exposure to asbestos, a material widely used in construction and for insulation until the 1970s. The study also noted the elevated risk of mesothelioma and asbestosis was confined to workers first employed at the sites prior to 1980, when use of asbestos would have been more prevalent. Mesothelioma is a cancer that is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos. It attacks the linings of the throat and lungs.

Researchers said that they were limited in the study by a small scope and recommended that DOE continue similar research.

Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.