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Data File: ORY12A02


 
Data Files (1):
Study Name: Case-Control Study of Mercury Workers at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Facility
Cohort Size: 2,133
Races: White
Sexes: Males
Diseases: Cancer and Non-Cancer Mortality
Earliest Exposure: 01/01/1953
Latest Exposure: 04/30/1958
Follow-Up: 12/31/1978
Exposure Type: External and Internal Mercury Exposure Monitoring
Exposure Agent: Mercury, Mercury Vapors
Covariate: Duration of Employment, Year of Hire
Sites: Oak Ridge Y-12
Description:
This analytic data file set consists of one file generated for a case-control mortality of white males exposed to elemental mercury at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Facility in 1953 to 1958 study by Donna Cragle et. al., published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine in 1984.
This study examined the mortality experience of a group of white male workers who were exposed to elemental mercury and mercury vapors. The mortality experience of the mercury workers was examined with respect to mercury-sensitive systems, including lung, liver, and kidney organs, and the central nervous system (CNS). Statistically significant excesses of deaths from cancer of the lung, brain, and CNS were observed in the group not involved in the mercury process. Exposure to mercury vapors at Y-12 was not found to be related to any excess of deaths from diseases or cancers of target organs for mercury, but an excess of lung cancer was observed in the mercury worker group. No excesses were found when level of exposure and length of exposure were considered.
The single analytic file, ORY12A02_d1 (MERANAL2), in this data file set contains demographic, vital status, and employment data and results of urinalysis monitoring (for mercury). There is one record for each of 5,664 workers; one individual was not included in the final analyses.
The overall population was defined as all white males who worked at least 4 months at Y-12 between January 1, 1953, and April 30, 1958. These criteria allowed 5,663 individuals to enter the study. The study group was separated into two smaller ones. The first group consisted of 3,530 workers for whom no urinalysis results were recorded and who were presumed as never having been monitored for mercury exposure. The remaining 2,133 were placed into the mercury worker group because their records contained results of mercury urinalyses.
Vital status was ascertained for all 5,663 workers through December 31, 1978, the study end date. There were 1,140 deaths identified, and death certificates were obtained for 1,125 (98.7%) of these deaths.
Records indicating participation in a mercury urinalysis program were used to classify the individual as a mercury worker. Personal radiation monitoring data were not used in the study.

Citations Associated:
Albers, J. W., Kallenbach, L. R., Fine, L. J., Langolf, G. D., Wolfe, R. A., Donofrio, P. D., Alessi, A. G., Stolp-Smith, K. A., & Bromberg, M. B. (1988). Neurological abnormalities associated with remote occupational elemental mercury exposure. Annals of Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.410240510
Cragle, D.L. (n.d.). Final report for a study of the health effects of exposure to elemental mercury: a follow-up of mercury exposed workers at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
Historical Document
Cragle, Donna L., Hollis, D. R., Qualters, J. R., Tankersley, W. G., & Fry, S. A. (1984). A mortality study of men exposed to elemental mercury. Journal of Occupational Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/00043764-198411000-00011
Letz, R., Gerr, F., Cragle, D., Green, R. C., Watkins, J., & Fidler, A. T. (2000). Residual neurologic deficits 30 years after occupational exposure to elemental mercury. NeuroToxicology.
University of Michigan (1987). Health Evaluation of Y-12 Workers Formerly Exposed to Mercury
Historical Document
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