Updated Standardized Mortality Ratio Evaluation of Disease Risks of Shipyard Workers Exposed to Low Dose Ionizing Radiation

Objective: To examine the risk of diseases among industrial workers with low and fractionated radiation exposures. Method: The 372,047 US male shipyard radiation and non-radiation workers were followed for 54 years and compared with US men using standardized mortality ratio (SMR) method. Results: SMRs for both radiation and non-radiation workers had lower risks of death from all causes (0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74 to 0.75 and 0.77; 95% Cl 0.77 to 0.78, respectively) and from all cancers (0.92; 95% CI 0.91 to 0.93 and 0.90; 95% CI 0.89 to 0.91, respectively) compared with US men. Asbestos-related diseases including pleural cancers, mesothelioma, and asbestosis, but not lung cancers, were statistically higher in both radiation and non-radiation workers compared with the US men. Conclusion: US shipyard male radiation and non-radiation workers did not show any elevated mortality risks that might be associated with radiation exposure.