O-136 New research on the continued health burdens of uranium miners: implications for workers compensation in the United States

Introduction

The US Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides compensation to some workers whose health was affected by uranium industry employment. Originally scheduled to terminate in 2022, the US government recently extended RECA benefits for two more years. Another RECA amendment proposes to extend the deadline further, defines additional compensable diseases, and expands eligibility to more contemporary uranium miners.

Materials and Methods

Researchers at NIOSH conduct extended follow-up on the cohort of US Colorado Plateau uranium miners, and participate in the international Pooled Uranium Miners Analysis (PUMA). Here we apply our recent research findings from both studies to contextualize the health burdens faced by surviving uranium miners, and examine how our research findings relate to the proposed extension and expansion of RECA.

Results

Former US uranium miners die of silicosis (Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR)=41.4; 95%CI:30.9–54.3), pneumoconiosis (SMR=39.6; 95%CI:29.3–52.3), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (SMR=4.8; 95%CI:3.7–6.1), and lung cancer (SMR=4.5; 95%CI:4.2–4.9) at higher rates than expected. These mortality excesses continue to be observed in recent calendar years. In the PUMA study, uranium miners had higher rates of lung, liver, larynx, stomach, and pleural cancers than expected, and miners hired in later periods also had higher rates of lung and stomach cancer than expected. A positive association between radon exposure and lung cancer mortality is seen in the full PUMA cohort as well as in the sub-cohort of more contemporary miners.

Conclusions

Recent analyses suggest there be more US uranium miners who develop compensable diseases after the planned termination of RECA benefits in 2024. Uranium miners die at elevated rates from several cancer types that are not currently compensable. Contemporary uranium miners who are ineligible for compensation due to their employment dates experience many of the same health hazards as early-period miners. The proposed amendments to RECA are generally consistent with recent scientific results.