The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #73894

Laura Welch, MD¹, Knut Ringen, PhD², Eula Bingham, PhD³, John Dement, PhD³, Tim Takaro, MD, MPH⁴, William McGowan³, Anna Chen¹, and Patricia Quinn¹. (1) Center to Protect Workers Rights, 8484 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (2) Center to Protect Workers' Rights, 8484 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-578-8500, knutringen@msn.com, (3) Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, PO Box 670056, Kettering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0001, (4) Dept of Environmental Health, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100, Box 354695, Seattle, WA 98105

Background. To determine whether current and former construction workers are at significant risk for occupational illnesses as a result of having worked at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear weapons facilities, three screening programs were undertaken at the Hanford, Oak Ridge, and the Savannah River sites. Results. 3842 workers participated. Nearly all reported exposure to “hazardous materials or work conditions” and approximately 75% reported that their health had been affected by their DOE work. Thirty-four percent reported exposure to beryllium. Overall, 2.2% of workers had at least one abnormal BeLPT test, while 1.4% were also abnormal on a second test. To date, 54 workers have tested abnormal on two BeLPT tests. Of those workers with a confirmed abnormal BeLPT test, 33 have completed a clinical evaluation for beryllium disease. Of these 5 were diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease. Both stratified and logistic regression analyses demonstrated increased risk of having at least one abnormal BeLPT to be associated with ever working in a site building where beryllium activities had taken place. Conclusions. Our findings illustrate the predictive value of the BeLPT as a screening tool for chronic beryllium disease among workers who no longer work around beryllium, and suggest the test has a low predictive value in populations with exposure characteristics similar to what we describe here. To date, the yield is approximately 1 case of CBD per 770 workers examined, at a cost of approximately $189,000 per case of CBD.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.