The Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site is a former nuclear weapons facility that fabricated plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons. The weapons production processes exposed workers to several hazardous chemicals and fibers, including chlorinated hydrocarbons, beryllium, heavy metals, and asbestos. We are using databases developed for cohort mortality studies and a job exposure matrix (JEM) to notify workers of past exposures to toxic chemicals, and to make recommendations for medical screening tests. The JEM includes estimates of exposures to 10 chemical agents in 20 buildings for 120 different job categories for a production history spanning 34 years. With the JEM, we were able to estimate lifetime chemical exposures for about 11,500 of the 15,000 former production workers who are still alive.
We describe our procedures for using data from the JEM to report annual workplace exposures to workers, and for obtaining their feedback on the accuracy of our estimates. We describe methods for estimating exposures for workers with no JEM estimates. We compare the JEM estimates with estimates made by workers, stratifying by type of exposure, period of employment, job title, and building. We also demonstrate how such comparisons can be used to improve estimates in the JEM.
Learning Objectives: None
Keywords: Occupational Health, Occupational Disease
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.