DOE Workers Face Higher Risks for Mesothelioma and Other Cancers
Construction workers at four Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear sites have been exposed to asbestos and other dangerous materials that are putting them at significantly higher risk for mesothelioma, lung disease, and other cancers according to a new report published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Working in construction and other trade jobs at nuclear sites can be risky business. Workers are regularly exposed to a number of cancer-causing substances, including asbestos. Since the mid 1990s, the government has been conducting surveillance programs to determine the health risks faced by workers at four DOE sites: Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Richland, Washington), Oak Ridge Reservation (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), Savannah River Site (Aiken, South Carolina), and the Amchitka site (Alaska). In past studies,…