Table 3.
Cancers and offspring-years at risk in children of nuclear workers, classified according to parental history of employment and monitoring for potential exposure to ionising radiation
| Male workers
|
Female workers
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of cancers (offspring-years*) | Rate ratio† (95% CI) | No of cancers (offspring-years*) | Rate ratio† (95% CI) | ||
| All malignancies | |||||
| Before employment‡ and monitoring§ | 16 (156 218) | 1.0 | 8 (84 165) | 1.0 | |
| After employment,‡ not monitored§ | 10 (123 283) | 0.6 (0.3 to 1.5) | 12 (55 128) | 2.7 (1.1 to 7.0) | |
| Monitored (all)§: | 68 (436 824) | 1.2 (0.7 to 2.2) | 2 (17 011) | 1.5 (0.3 to 7.1) | |
| External radiation only | 34 (228 334) | 1.2 (0.6 to 2.2) | 2 (10 942) | 2.3 (0.5 to 10.6) | |
| External and internal | 34 (208 490) | 1.2 (0.7 to 2.4) | 0 (6 069) | 0 (–) | |
| Leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma | |||||
| Before employment‡ and monitoring§ | 3 (156 252) | 1.0 | 4 (84 183) | 1.0 | |
| After employment,‡ not monitored§ | 2 (123 346) | 0.7 (0.1 to 4.5) | 4 (55 163) | 1.6 (0.4 to 6.1) | |
| Monitored (all)§: | 23 (437 023) | 2.4 (0.6 to 9.5) | 0 (17 021) | 0 (–) | |
| External radiation only | 9 (228 422) | 1.8 (0.4 to 7.9) | 0 (10 952) | 0 (–) | |
| External and internal | 14 (208 601) | 3.0 (0.7 to 13.0) | 0 (6 069) | 0 (–) | |
| Leukaemia | |||||
| Before employment‡ and monitoring§ | 2 (156 253) | 1.0 | 4 (84 153) | 1.0 | |
| After employment,‡ not monitored§ | 2 (123 346) | 1.2 (0.2 to 8.6) | 2 (55 170) | 1.2 (0.3 to 5.5) | |
| Monitored (all)§: | 18 (437 050) | 3.2 (0.6 to 15.7) | 0 (17 021) | 0(–) | |
| External radiation only | 7 (228 437) | 2.4 (0.4 to13.1) | 0 (10 952) | 0 (–) | |
| External and internal | 11 (208 613) | 4.1 (0.8 to 21.8) | 0 (6 069) | 0 (–) | |
| All malignancies except leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma | |||||
| Before employment‡ and monitoring§ | 13 (156 230) | 1.0 | 4 (84 177) | 1.0 | |
| After employment,‡ not monitored§ | 8 (123 300) | 0.6 (0.2 to 1.6) | 8 (55 159) | 3.9 (1.0 to 14.4) | |
| Monitored (all)§: | 45 (436 968) | 1.0 (0.5 to 1.8) | 2 (17 011) | 3.2 (0.6 to 17.8) | |
| External radiation only | 25 (228 360) | 1.0 (0.5 to 2.1) | 2 (10 942) | 4.8 (0.9 to 26.4) | |
| External and internal | 20 (208 608) | 0.9 (0.4 to 1.8) | 0 (6 069) | 0 (–) | |
Offspring-years up to diagnosis, death, or date of survey.
Estimated rate ratios adjusted for calendar period, age and sex of child, and for the number of children born to each parent.
According to date of first service with nuclear authority in personnel record supplied by employer.
Monitoring defined as presence of a record of monitoring for external sources of ionising radiation at Atomic Weapons Establishments, Atomic Energy Authority, British Nuclear Fuels or a previous employer, or date first externally monitored present in personnel record, or flag/date of monitoring for internal radionuclides.