Study confirms higher risk of cancer for nuclear facilities workers

Construction Workers Employed at DOE Nuclear Sites at Higher Risk of Cancer

A follow-up study by CPWR finds that workers in construction face a higher risk of developing cancers than the general US population.

There seems to be a lot of awareness when it comes to construction site safety, but what about the health of construction workers?

Construction workers employed at the Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear sites across the U.S. are often exposed to multiple hazards during facility construction, maintenance or cleanup. Some of these hazards include radiation, asbestos, silica, metals and many other gasses and fumes. So, what kind of health risks are they facing?

Since 1996, surveillance has been conducted on 35 DOE sites to determine if construction and trade workers are at significant risk for diseases associated with occupational exposures. During a webinar with John Dement, professor in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, he explained that a recent mortality study update determined that construction mortality was elevated for all cancers.

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