Email a Friend
Printer Friendly
Slashdot It!
Submit to Reddit
Add to Facebook

Study describes health effects of occupational exposures in Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers

July 23, 2010

A five-year study into the causes of deaths of workers at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) shows significantly lower death rates from all causes and cancer in general when compared to the overall United States population. This is known by occupational health researchers as the "healthy worker effect". However, death from lymphatic and bone marrow cancers such as leukemia or multiple myeloma were slightly above national rates.

The study was conducted by faculty at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences and collaborators from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Kentucky. It was funded through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, thanks to the effort of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, who was instrumental in getting the study off the ground.

"This was an important study, because it addressed lingering concerns about the health of workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant," said David Tollerud, MD, MPH, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at UofL's School of Public Health and Information Sciences. "It is important for occupational health and public health research to attempt to answer pressing concerns of impacted populations, and we were able to report that we didn't find unexpectedly high rates of disease in this workforce."

Security workers had higher overall death rates than other employees, while chemical operators had higher death rates from leukemia and multiple myeloma than the rest of the workers.

"The increased number of lymphatic and bone marrow cancer deaths is consistent with what we expected. Based on other studies, these forms of cancer have been linked to low levels of radiation exposure," Tollerud said.

The team compiled data on thousands of employees who worked at the plant for at least 30 days in different job classifications from 1952 through 2003. The data were used to assess exposure levels. Overall, 1,638 workers died out of the 6,759 in the study. This is less than the 2,253 deaths that would have been expected in the general public during the same time.

The team now plans to present its findings to PGDP workers and distribute a study fact sheet that summarizes the main findings and directs workers to resources that are available if they have concerns or questions.

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in western Kentucky, is the only operating uranium enrichment facility in the United States, and the only one where a worker mortality study had not been conducted. The plant was commissioned in 1952 under the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a U.S. government program to produce enriched uranium to fuel military reactors and nuclear weapons. The plant's mission changed in the 1960s from enriching uranium for nuclear weapons to enriching uranium for use in commercial nuclear reactors to generate electricity.

University of Louisville

Related Gaseous Diffusion Plant Current Events and Gaseous Diffusion Plant News Articles

Researchers complete seismic borehole in Kentucky
Drilling has been completed on the deepest borehole for seismic instruments in the eastern U.S. The four-inch diameter hole for the Central U.S. Seismic Observatory (CUSSO), located at Sassafras Ridge in Fulton County, Kentucky, reached a depth of 1,948 feet, where bedrock was encountered.

More Gaseous Diffusion Plant Current Events and Gaseous Diffusion Plant News Articles

	Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant: Hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, first session, special hearing (S. hrg) by United States (Author)
	In situ enhanced soil mixing demonstrated at U.S. Department of Energy, X-231B, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant : prepared for U.S. Department of Energy, ... Science and Technology (SuDoc E 1.90/3:0289) by U.S. Dept of Energy (Author)
	Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant by Lambert M. Surhone (Editor), Miriam T. Timpledon (Editor), Susan F. Marseken (Editor) High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is a facility located in McCracken County, Kentucky, near Paducah, Kentucky, that produces enriched uranium, including weapons-grade uranium, for the United States atomic energy program and US nuclear weapons program. The plant is now operated by United States Enrichment Corporation, a subsidiary of USEC Incorporated, a publicly traded corporation (NYSE: USU).The plant was opened in 1952 as part of a U.S. government program to produce highly enriched uranium to fuel military reactors and produce nuclear weapons. The primary mode of enrichment was the gaseous diffusion of Uranium hexaflouride to separate the lighter fissile isotope, U-235, from the heavier non-fissile isotope, U-238. Operations at the Paducah...
	Lasagna soil remediation demonstrated at U.S. Department of Energy Cylinder Drop Test Area, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah, Kentucky : prepared ... Science and Technology (SuDoc E 1.90/3:0308) by U.S. Dept of Energy (Author)
	Isotope Separation Facilities: Y-12 National Security Complex, K-25, National Enrichment Facility, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant by Books LLC (Creator) Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Y-12 National Security Complex, K-25, National Enrichment Facility, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Valindaba, Honeywell Uranium Hexafluoride Processing Facility. Excerpt: The Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Y-12 is managed and operated under contract by B
	Department of Energy's Management of Health And Safety Issues at Its Gaseous Diffusion Plants in Oak Ridge, Tn, And Piketon, Oh: Hearing Before The Committee On Governmental Affairs, U.s. Senate by Fred Thompson (Editor)
	Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One by United States (Author)
	Meteorological effects of the cooling towers at the Oak Ridge gaseous diffusion plant (ATDL contribution file) by Steven R Hanna (Author)
	Cooling tower drift studies at the Paducah, Kentucky gaseous diffusion plant (ORNL/TM) by Fred Gene Taylor (Author)
	Environmental surveillance of the U.S. Department of Energy Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and surrounding environs during 1986 by T. W Oakes (Author)