Abstract
Cancer mortality was examined among 7,270 workers at the Mound nuclear facility near Dayton, Ohio where polonium-210 was used (1944–1972) as a source of neutrons for triggering nuclear weapons. Other exposures included external gamma radiation and intake of plutonium-238, tritium, and a number of other radionuclides. Lifetime occupational doses to Mound workers from all places of employment before and after work at Mound were incorporated into the analysis. Over 200,000 urine samples were analyzed to estimate radiation doses to body organs from polonium-210, plutonium-238, and other internally deposited radionuclides. Internally deposited polonium-210 was found to be the primary contributor to radiation dose at the Mound facility. Dose related increases in cancers of the esophagus and liver were indicated but based on small numbers. The absence of a detectable increase in total cancer deaths and lung cancer in particular associated with occupational exposures to polonium (mean lung dose 159.8 mSv), and to plutonium to a lesser extent (mean lung dose 13.7 mSv), is noteworthy but based on small numbers.
