Some employee illnesses due to workplace, doctors conclude

["Harmon, Terry O'Devah (ONF) " <onf@bechteljacobs.org>]

Some employee illnesses due to workplace, doctors conclude

                    August 1, 2000

                    By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel Oak Ridge bureau

                    OAK RIDGE -- A trio of physicians concluded
                    Monday after four years of study that some
                    illnesses reported by a group of workers at the
                    government's K-25 site were probably caused by
                    the Oak Ridge workplace. 

                    However, the medical team said the complexity of
                    the situation -- including the wide variety of
                    symptoms reported by the 53 plant employees and
                    their different work experiences and likely
                    exposures -- made it virtually impossible to find a
                    common explanation for the illnesses. 

                    The physicians also emphasized that study
                    participants were self-selected -- sick workers who
                    volunteered for the evaluations -- and therefore the
                    results are not necessarily indicative of the health of
                    the entire worker population at the Oak Ridge
                    nuclear facility, past or present. 

                    But the results do raise concerns and suggest the
                    need for more studies, said Dr. James Lockey, an
                    occupational medicine specialist from the University
                    of Cincinnati. 

                    "There are some cases we really don't know what to
                    do with," he said before outlining a series of
                    recommended studies, including a detailed look at
                    "neurotoxins" such as mercury and evaluation of
                    nickel exposures at K-25. 

                    Lockey was joined at a Monday evening
                    presentation by his colleagues on the study, Dr.
                    Andrew Freeman, also of Cincinnati, and Dr.
                    Richard Bird of Boston. 

                    The doctors did not give details of individual cases
                    or provide many numbers regarding illnesses linked
                    to the K-25 workplace. But they noted some
                    illnesses were not attributable to the Oak Ridge
                    workplace, while some of the work-related illnesses
                    -- such as asthma and sinusitis -- were similar to
                    those found at many industrial sites. 

                    Still other individuals showed symptoms,
                    particularly neurological problems, that were "more
                    unique" to conditions at the Oak Ridge facility. 

                    The results could help some qualify for workers'
                    compensation, as well as financial payments under
                    legislation being considered in Congress for Cold
                    War nuclear workers. 

                    The medical team expressed surprise at the
                    number of K-25 workers with sensitivity to beryllium,
                    especially since the metal historically was not
                    associated with work at the former
                    uranium-enrichment plant. Sensitivity often leads to
                    development of chronic beryllium disease, an
                    incurable respiratory ailment, and at least six of the
                    study group tested positive. 

                    That finding suggests there may be other unknown
                    exposures or explanations yet to be discovered for
                    illnesses at the plant, the doctors said. 

                    Lockey, Bird and Freeman were hired in late 1996
                    for what originally was to be a three-month review of
                    the K-25 workers. However, the medical project has
                    been extended numerous times, with the price tag
                    reaching $1.8 million. 

                    Frank Munger may be reached at 865-482-9213 or
                    twig1@knoxnews.infi.net.

Terry Harmon
Sr. Health Physics Tech
Kelly Scientific Resources
Phone: (865) 241-0289
Pager: (865) 417-1592
Email: onf@ <mailto:harmonto@ornl.gov> bechteljacobs.org
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