Occupational Health Screenings of Former Atmic Bomb Assembly Workers

The University of Iowa, Former Worker Program is part of a nationwide Department of Energy (DoE) program screening former nuclear weapons workers. The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant was one of two US Atomic Bomb assembly sites. This workforce, of 3,500, worked between 1944 and 1975. Screening is performed for lung disease, chronic beryllium disease, CBD, beryllium sensitization, cancers or other conditions that may have resulted from toxic exposures Of 788 former workers screened for Beryllium sensitization 32 (4%) tested positive with at least one abnormal Lymphocyte Proliferation Test. Two readers reviewed 635 chest x-rays for pneumoconiosis. We found 48 (7.6 %) with parenchymal abnormalities defined as ILO small opacities profusion >= 1/0, 8 of these had dramatic fibrosis with ILO >= 2/1. 43 (6.8 %) had pleural abnormalities and 33 (5.2 %) both parenchymal and pleural abnormalities. 18 suspicious masses were noted on chest XRay of which five proved cases of previously unsuspected lung cancer and one of intrathoracic thyroid cancer. The screenings also detected one new colon cancer, one chronic lymphocytic leukemia and four prostate cancers. In addition we reviewed medical records for past evidence of occupational disease and curiously found three cases of documented Wegener's Granulomatosis and two cases of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, both well above expected population prevalence and likely representing past cases of CBD. This site was characterized by NIOSH and the DOE as “low risk”. These results support more widespread screening both of DOE populations and of other workforces utilizing Beryllium alloys.