Mortality from external causes among the personnel of Mayak's radiochemical plant.

The mortality rate from accidents, poisoning, and traumas was analyzed in 12,806 persons who started work at the radiochemical plant from 1948 to 1972. 559 persons died from these causes, which corresponds to 21.1% of the total number of deaths. The global and age-specific mortality rates appeared to be lower than those for the general population. The structure of mortality from external causes differed in some way from that of the general population: the percentage of accidents connected with transport and of murders was lower, whereas it was higher for suicides. The mortality rate from specific causes including suicides, however, was lower than in the general population. The level of radiation exposure did not influence the mortality rates from the studied causes.