Brief review of world researches of radiation and non-radiation effects in nuclear industry workers

Based on the generated database of sources (publications and documents) devoted to studies of health effects in nuclear industry workers (about 40 countries; more than 800 works), a brief overview of the mortality rate of this contingent from various pathologies has been performed. The fact of lower mortality of workers is revealed in comparison with the standardized for sex and age group of the general population. Some paradox was that at the initiating of the development of the nuclear industry this effect ‘healthy worker’ manifested itself more clearly than in recent decades (it was demonstrated by the example of the united cohort of Great Britain in 1946-1997 and, partly, employed by Mayak Production Association).An analysis of the paraqmeter for nuclear industry workers in Western countries, including a pooled cohort of 15 countries (Cardis E. et al., 2007-2008), showed that there is currently no fully founded conclusion about a substantial increase in mortality from solid cancers in total. A slight increase of the risk for lung cancer has been associated mainly with a Canada cohort characterized by incomplete dosimetry. At the same time, the risk of leukemia, apparently, can be significantly increased, as indicated by the Mayak Production Association data for past decades. But the increase in the absolute risk of mortality from leukemia after irradiation at the border of low doses (0,1 Gy) was small: no more than 0,4-0,9 deaths per 100 000 employees per year.For non-cancer pathologies, compared with the general population as a whole, lower mortality was observed. Circulatory diseases were a slight exception, although the increase in risk in these cases was usually small (by 10-20%). There have been isolated cases of higher risks, but for exposure to medium or high doses. It should be borne in mind, however, that the contingent under study also had contacts with non-radiation damaging factors that could increase circulatory pathologies which are multifactorial in causality. A number of studies have also found a statistically significant relationship between alcohol consumption, smoking and the accumulated dose of radiation (the influence of lifestyle).Thus, a brief study showed, on the whole, the best health status of nuclear workers in various countries of the world compared with the general population, as well as the rather weak effect of the radiation factor, at least in recent decades.

nuclear industry workers, databases, “healthy worker effect”, malignant neoplasms, noncancerous pathologies

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