Lung Cancer and Radon: Pooled Analysis of Uranium Miners Hired in 1960 or Later. 2022

David B Richardson, and Estelle Rage, and Paul A Demers, and Minh T Do, and Nora Fenske, and Veronika Deffner, and Michaela Kreuzer, and Jonathan Samet, and Stephen J Bertke, and Kaitlin Kelly-Reif, and Mary K Schubauer-Berigan, and Ladislav Tomasek, and Lydia B Zablotska, and Charles Wiggins, and Dominique Laurier
University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, USA.

Despite reductions in exposure for workers and the general public, radon remains a leading cause of lung cancer. Prior studies of underground miners depended heavily upon information on deaths among miners employed in the early years of mine operations when exposures were high and tended to be poorly estimated. To strengthen the basis for radiation protection, we report on the follow-up of workers employed in the later periods of mine operations for whom we have more accurate exposure information and for whom exposures tended to be accrued at intensities that are more comparable to contemporary settings. We conducted a pooled analysis of cohort studies of lung cancer mortality among 57,873 male uranium miners in Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, and the United States, who were first employed in 1960 or later (thereby excluding miners employed during the periods of highest exposure and focusing on miners who tend to have higher quality assessments of radon progeny exposures). We derived estimates of excess relative rate per 100 working level months (ERR/100 WLM) for mortality from lung cancer. The analysis included person-years of observation and 1,217 deaths due to lung cancer. The relative rate of lung cancer increased in a linear fashion with cumulative exposure to radon progeny (ERR/100 ; 95% CI: 0.89, 1.88). The association was modified by attained age, age at exposure, and annual exposure rate; for attained ages , the ERR/100 WLM was 8.38 (95% CI: 3.30, 18.99) among miners who were exposed at of age and at annual exposure rates of working levels. This association decreased with older attained ages, younger ages at exposure, and higher exposure rates. Estimates of association between radon progeny exposure and lung cancer mortality among relatively contemporary miners are coherent with estimates used to inform current protection guidelines. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10669.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008175 Lung Neoplasms Tumors or cancer of the LUNG. Cancer of Lung,Lung Cancer,Pulmonary Cancer,Pulmonary Neoplasms,Cancer of the Lung,Neoplasms, Lung,Neoplasms, Pulmonary,Cancer, Lung,Cancer, Pulmonary,Cancers, Lung,Cancers, Pulmonary,Lung Cancers,Lung Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Lung,Neoplasm, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Cancers,Pulmonary Neoplasm
D008297 Male Males
D009381 Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced Tumors, cancer or other neoplasms produced by exposure to ionizing or non-ionizing radiation. Radiation-Induced Cancer,Cancer, Radiation-Induced,Radiation-Induced Neoplasms,Cancer, Radiation Induced,Cancers, Radiation-Induced,Neoplasm, Radiation-Induced,Neoplasms, Radiation Induced,Radiation Induced Cancer,Radiation Induced Neoplasms,Radiation-Induced Cancers,Radiation-Induced Neoplasm
D009784 Occupational Diseases Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment. Diseases, Occupational,Occupational Illnesses,Disease, Occupational,Illnesse, Occupational,Illnesses, Occupational,Occupational Disease,Occupational Illnesse
D011886 Radon A naturally radioactive element with atomic symbol Rn, and atomic number 86. It is a member of the noble gas family found in soil, and is released during the decay of RADIUM. Actinon,Thoron (Element)
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067572 Miners Persons who work in a mine to extract ore or MINERALS from the earth. Mine Workers,Mineworkers,Mine Worker,Miner,Mineworker,Worker, Mine,Workers, Mine
D014501 Uranium A radioactive element of the actinide series of metals. It has an atomic symbol U, atomic number 92, and atomic weight 238.03. U-235 is used as the fissionable fuel in nuclear weapons and as fuel in nuclear power reactors.
D016273 Occupational Exposure The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation. Exposure, Occupational,Exposures, Occupational,Occupational Exposures
D017687 Radon Daughters Short-lived radioactive decay products of radon that include 216-Po, 214-Pb, 214-Bi, and 214-Po. They have an effective half-life of about 30 minutes and are solids that can deposit on the bronchial airways during inhalation and exhalation. This results in exposure of the respiratory airways to alpha radiation and can lead to diseases of the respiratory system, including lung cancer. (From Casarett and Doull's Toxicology, 4th ed, p740) Radon Daughter Nuclides,Radon Decay Products,Radon Progeny,Thoron Daughter Nuclides,Thoron Daughters,Thoron Decay Products,Thoron Progeny,Daughter Nuclides, Radon,Daughter Nuclides, Thoron,Daughters, Radon,Daughters, Thoron,Decay Products, Radon,Decay Products, Thoron

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