| This analytic data file set consists of two files generated for a cohort mortality study of male and female workers employed during 1947 to 1974 at the uranium enrichment facility (Y-12) plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee by DP Loomis, et al., published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 1996. |
| This cohort mortality study of Y-12 workers presents updated results from a long-term mortality study of workers at Y-12 between 1947 and 1974, with follow-up of white men through 1990 and data reported for the first time for women and men of other races. The Y-12 plant is part of a nuclear production and research complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Workers at Y-12 were exposed to low doses of internal, alpha radiation, and external, penetrating radiation, as well as to beryllium, mercury, solvents, and other industrial agents. |
| Vital status was determined through searches of the National Death Index and other records, and the workers' mortality was compared to the national population's using SMRs. Total mortality was low for all Y-12 workers and total cancer mortality was as expected. Among the 6,591 white men, there were 20% more lung cancer deaths than expected. Death rates from brain cancer and several lymphopoietic system cancers were also elevated among white men, with SMRs of 1.28 and 1.46. Mortality from cancer of the pancreas, prostate, and kidney was similarly elevated. There was evidence of excess breast cancer among the 1,073 female workers. |
| The file, ORY12A05_d1 (Y2AN0102), includes data for those who worked only at Y-12. File ORY12A05_d2 (Y2AN0103) includes individuals who worked at both Y-12 and TEC. |
