Cancer mortality among French nuclear contract workers.
BACKGROUND
Nuclear workers from French contracting companies have received higher doses than workers from Electricité de France (EDF) or Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA).


METHODS
A cohort study of 9,815 workers in 11 contracting companies, monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation between 1967 and 2000 were followed up for a median duration of 12.5 years. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed.


RESULTS
Between 1968 and 2002, 250 deaths occurred. Our study demonstrated a clear healthy worker effect (HWE) with mortality attaining half that expected from national mortality statistics (SMR = 0.54, 95% CI = [0.47-0.61]). The HWE was lower for all cancers (SMR = 0.65) than for non-cancer deaths (SMR = 0.46). The analysis by cancer site showed no excess compared with the general population. Significant trends were observed according to the level of exposure to ionizing radiation for deaths from cancer, deaths from digestive cancer and deaths from respiratory cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
The mortality of nuclear workers from contracting companies is very low compared to French national mortality.
Guérin
Sylvie
S
Unit 605, INSERM, Villejuif, France. guerin@igr.fr
Richard
Gaël
G
Biau
Alain
A
Lebre
Sophie
S
Crescini
Danièle
D
Haddy
Nadia
N
Guldner
Laurence
L
Paoletti
Catherine
C
Hill
Catherine
C
de Vathaire
Florent
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003284:Contract Services; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D015989:Healthy Worker Effect; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000401:mortality*; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D017785:Photons; D011874:Radiometry; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult