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On April 12, 2001, the New
York State Department of Health Cancer Registry released a report
entitled "Distribution of Cancer Among Former and Current
Brookhaven National Laboratory Workers." The report compares the
distribution of various types of cancers in the Brookhaven work force to
the populations of Suffolk, Nassau and upstate New York. This
information will help the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health weigh the feasibility
and advisability of doing a thorough epidemiological study of the
Brookhaven work force.
The assessment was proposed in 1996, when some employees expressed
concerns about the possibility that more workers at Brookhaven may be
diagnosed with cancer than expected. The Cancer Registry undertook the
assessment at the request of the Department of Energy's Office of Health
Studies. The Registry collects data on cancers diagnosed in New York
State residents in and out of state.
Statement From John Marburger, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Director, On Worker Cancer Assessment
 "I am pleased, but not surprised, that this assessment
finds no elevation of radiosensitive solid cancers among
Brookhaven employees, and that overall distribution of cancers
does not deviate significantly from Long Island and New York State
levels. This Laboratory has made worker health and safety a
priority since its earliest days, and we welcome any means of
verifying the effectiveness of that policy.
The assessment was intended to identify areas that warrant
further investigation, and two such areas were noted. In
particular, the assessment suggests the need to look at
lymphocytic leukemias in women and malignant melanomas in men. The
number of individual cancer cases detected was so small that it is
not possible at this point to draw meaningful conclusions from
these observations. Now we have to work with the Department of
Energy to help the New York State Department of Health Cancer
Registry and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health develop a plan that will lead to a more definite conclusion
about these cases.
My overall impression of the assessment data is that it
confirms a population of healthy workers. But more work is
needed to follow up on the few cases where excess cancers were
noted."
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Statement on Worker Cancer Assessment by Michael Holland
, DOE Brookhaven Area Office Manager
"I am most grateful for
the cooperation of DOE's Office of Health Studies and the New York
State Department of Health's Cancer Registry in conducting
the BNL worker cancer assessment for us. The assessment
provides the Laboratory and its community with another important
data point about employees’ health and safety at the Laboratory.
The assessment compares the
distribution of various types of cancers in the BNL work force to
the populations of New York (excluding New York City) and Nassau
and Suffolk counties. The assessment verifies that there is
no elevation in cases of radiosensitive solid cancers in current
and former BNL employees, and that the distribution of cancers
among this group of people is similar to that of the broader state
and Long Island populations.
Now, the Department will work
with the Laboratory and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health to determine appropriate next steps for this
information."
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Previous coverage
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The progress of the Worker Health Assessment has been chronicled in the Brookhaven
Bulletin since 1998. Those articles are available in the links below.
"Cancer Distribution Among BNLers is the Same as In
Residents of Suffolk, Nassau, Upstate"
Read this article in the PDF version of the
Bulletin.
"Meetings Address Issues Related to Health of BNL Employees"
Read this article in the PDF version of the
Bulletin.
"Refinements to Roster, Protocols Delay Worker Cancer Assessment"
Read this article in the PDF version of the Bulletin
or in plain text.
"BNL Cancer Assessment — Where Does It Stand?"
Read this
article in the PDF version of the Bulletin
or in plain text.
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