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. 2010;20(2):195-210.
doi: 10.2190/NS.20.2.e.

Inequalities in the nuclear age: impact of race and gender on radiation exposure at the Savannah River Site (1951-1999)

Kim A Angelon-Gaetz  1 , David B Richardson, Steve Wing
Affiliations

Inequalities in the nuclear age: impact of race and gender on radiation exposure at the Savannah River Site (1951-1999)

Kim A Angelon-Gaetz et al. New Solut. 2010.

Abstract

Changes in the workforce during the civil rights movement may have impacted occupational exposures in the United States. We examined Savannah River Site (SRS) employee records (1951-1999) for changes in radiation doses and monitoring practices, by race and sex. Segregation of jobs by race and sex diminished but remained pronounced in recent years. Female workers were less likely than males to be monitored for occupational radiation exposure [odds of being unmonitored = 3.11; 95% CI: (2.79, 3.47)] even after controlling for job and decade of employment. Black workers were more likely than non-black workers to have a detectable radiation dose [OR = 1.36 (95% CI: 1.28, 1.43)]. Female workers have incomplete dose histories that would hinder compensation for illnesses related to occupational exposures. The persistence of job segregation and excess radiation exposures of black workers shows the need for further action to address disparities in occupational opportunities and hazardous exposures in the U. S. South.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in pay code of newly hired Savannah River Site workers by race and gender. (Note: Only one African-American woman worked in the 1950s.)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of work-years by radiation monitoring status and calendar year. (Note: The y-axis scale differs for non-black males due to the large number of years worked by this group.)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean annual radiation dose of Savannah River Site workers by demographic group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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