Health Effects of Occupational Exposure in PGDP Workers

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) is located in Western Kentucky, about 10 miles west of the city of Paducah. It currently employs approximately 1,700 workers; some 6,000 individuals have worked at the plant since it opened in 1952. The primary function of the PGDP has been to produce enriched uranium for use by commercial reactors or as feed material for other plants that further enrich the uranium. Workers, government officials and the surrounding community have raised concerns about potential health effects of current and past exposures at the plant. Recently, federal funds were committed to support an investigation by researchers at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky of health effects related to radiation and chemical exposures at the facility. The investigation will take a two-pronged approach, evaluating the impact of historical exposures on worker mortality, and characterizing the effects of more recent exposures on current and future risk of disease. The overall purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of undertaking a comprehensive investigation of both historical exposures that may have affected the health of PGDP workers and more recent exposures that may affect current and future disease risk. The specific aims of this study are: 1. Continue to develop a complete roster of past and present employees at the PGDP. 2. Continue to obtain copies of all electronic files containing necessary exposure and personnel information, and discover the location and extent of all hard copy information relevant to exposure and personnel records. 3. Continue to identify current PGDP workers with higher and lower levels of external radiation exposure. Project coordination and management, industrial hygiene research, and qualitative interviewing will be the primary responsibilities of the University of Kentucky personnel.