[ RadSafe ] Scientists discover possible radiation and heartdisease link

Fri Mar 7 13:17:03 CST 2008

I would suspect that, on average, the radiation workers who received the
highest doses were from a lower socio-economic standing (e.g., the
decontamination workers). Socio-economics (read lifestyle) is a
well-established indicator of one's propensity for heart disease and
shorter lifespan and I would wager that this is likely THE causal factor
behind the finding rather that dose level which is likely only a symptom
of the causal factor.

Grant

Grant I. Nixon, Ph.D., P.Phys.
Science Specialist / Senior Radiation Physicist
Radiation Applications Development Team
Engineering, Development & Compliance
MDS Nordion
447 March Road
Ottawa, ON  K2K 1X8
Canada

Tel: +1 613 592 3400 ext. 2869
Fax: +1 613 591 7423
-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of howard long
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 1:34 PM
To: John R Johnson; Fred Dawson; srp-uk at yahoogroups.com
Cc: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Scientists discover possible radiation and
heartdisease link
Importance: Low

Opposite - less CV mortality with more radiation - must be true in the
NShipyardWS 
with just 0.76 total mortality rate in those with > extra 0.5 rem vs
workers otherwise identical,
as published by Cameron.

Howard Long

----- Original Message ----
From: John R Johnson <idias at interchange.ubc.ca>
To: Fred Dawson <fred-dawson at blueyonder.co.uk>; srp-uk at yahoogroups.com
Cc: radsafe at radlab.nl
Sent: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 10:39:38 AM
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Scientists discover possible radiation and
heart disease link

Fred

There is a link between radiation and cardiovascular disease. See Darby
et 
al (BMJ Vol. 326, pp256-257, 2003) and our poster at the IRPA-11
meeting.

John
***************
John R Johnson, PhD
CEO, IDIAS, Inc.
4535 West 9th Ave
604-676-3556
Vancouver, B. C.
V6R 2E2, Canada
idias at interchange.ubc.ca

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Dawson" <fred-dawson at blueyonder.co.uk>
To: <srp-uk at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 8:53 AM
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Scientists discover possible radiation and heart 
disease link

> Guardian reports
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/04/nuclear.nuclearpower
>
> A study of nearly 65,000 nuclear industry workers over more than 60
years
> has found a possible link between high radiation exposure and heart 
> disease.
>
>
> The finding was particularly surprising since there is no established
> biological mechanism that would explain how radiation exposure might
cause
> heart disease. However, the research team stressed that its analysis
could
> not rule out other factors that could explain the link, such as 
> work-related
> stress or irregular shift patterns.
>
> The team studied 64,818 workers at the Sellafield, Springfields, 
> Chapelcross
> and Capenhurst nuclear sites. Some of the workers began work in the 
> industry
> as far back as 1946, and 42,426 were exposed to radiation as part of
their
> job.
>
> When the researchers compared workers occupationally exposed to
radiation
> with those who were not, they did not find any difference in the
number of
> cases of heart disease and stroke. However, when they split the
> radiation-exposed workers into groups with different levels of
exposure
> (based on readings from radiation-monitoring badges worn by all staff)

> they
> did see a disparity.
>
> Those workers who were exposed to the highest levels had a slightly
lower
> life expectancy due to an increased probability of heart disease and
> strokes. "We see a higher mortality for those workers with the highest

> level
> of operation exposure," said Prof Steve Jones of Westlakes Scientific
> Consulting, the private company hired by British Nuclear Fuels and the
> Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to carry out the research.
>
> The team stressed that because the analysis was carried out 
> retrospectively,
> it could not be sure that the findings ruled out other factors that
could 
> be
> responsible for the results. "We can't show whether it's a consequence
of
> that exposure or whether it's due to something else," said Jones.
>
> However, he added that if radiation were the cause, then the workers
who
> have experienced the highest levels of exposure have roughly a 73%
chance 
> of
> surviving until they are 70, compared with a 75% chance if they had 
> received
> no exposure at all.
>
> The findings will have little relevance for workers joining the
industry
> today, according to the team. "I don't think it's a big issue for
nuclear
> workers at present or in the future because the exposure levels are so

> low,"
> said the report's co-author Michael Gillies. In the 1960s, workers
were
> exposed to up to a radiation dose of 12 millisieverts per year
compared 
> with
> around one millisievert per year now.
>
> The most highly exposed workers received a radiation dose around five
to 
> 10
> times less during their entire working lives than survivors of the
atomic
> bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
>
> In any case, workers in the nuclear industry are generally much
healthier
> than the general population, despite the health risks they may face at

> work.
> By comparing their sample with the average for the local population,
the
> team found that the mortality rate of nuclear workers is 20% lower.
>
> The team reported its findings today in the International Journal of
> Epidemiology.
>
> ======================
>
> Fwp_dawson at hotmail.com
>
>
>
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