Building a job-exposure matrix for early plutonium workers at the Sellafield nuclear site, United Kingdom.

The potential for adverse health effects from internal exposure to Plutonium has been recognised since its discovery in the 1940s. However, in the absence of specific information, potential risks from Plutonium exposure have always largely been controlled through knowledge of radiation exposure risks in general, much of which comes from external radiation exposures. To try to obtain more direct estimates of potential internal exposure risks, epidemiological studies of Plutonium workers need to be conducted.

Construction, Validation and Sensitivity Analyses of a Job Exposure Matrix for Early Plutonium Workers at the Sellafield Nuclear Site, United Kingdom.

Plutonium is a radiologically significant alpha-particle emitter. The potential for adverse health effects from internal exposures due to plutonium intakes has been recognized since the 1940s. The workforce of the Sellafield nuclear facility (Cumbria, UK), includes one of the world's most important groups of plutonium-exposed workers for studying the potential health risks of this internal exposure.

A review of job-exposure matrix methodology for application to workers exposed to radiation from internally deposited plutonium or other radioactive materials.

Any potential health effects of radiation emitted from radionuclides deposited in the bodies of workers exposed to radioactive materials can be directly investigated through epidemiological studies. However, estimates of radionuclide exposure and consequent tissue-specific doses, particularly for early workers for whom monitoring was relatively crude but exposures tended to be highest, can be uncertain, limiting the accuracy of risk estimates. We review the use of job-exposure matrices (JEMs) in peer-reviewed epidemiological and exposure assessment studies of nuclear industry workers exposed to radioactive materials as a method for addressing gaps in exposure data, and discuss methodology and comparability between studies.