Study reveals radiation risks

Nuclear workers exposed to relatively high levels of radiation over long periods of service before the 1980s may be at increased risk of circulatory disease, according to a new study.

The research, conducted by Westlakes Scientific Consulting and published this week in the International Journal of Epidemiology, focused on 65,000 individuals employed between 1946 and 2002 at sites operated by British Nuclear Fuels plc and its predecessors.

Professor Steve Jones, corresponding author of the study, said the findings are important but must be interpreted with caution: ‘What we have shown is an association between relatively high levels of occupational exposure to radiation and mortality from circulatory system disease. However, we have not been able to take account of all the other possible causes of circulatory system disease. The possible biological mechanisms that might explain a link with radiation are tentative at best, and so the results of our analysis are not consistent with any simple causal interpretation.’