Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar;77(3):194-200.
doi: 10.1136/oemed-2019-105981. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

PUMA - pooled uranium miners analysis: cohort profile

Estelle Rage  1 , David B Richardson  2 , Paul A Demers  3 , Minh Do  3 , Nora Fenske  4 , Michaela Kreuzer  4 , Jonathan Samet  5 , Charles Wiggins  6   7 , Mary K Schubauer-Berigan  8   9 , Kaitlin Kelly-Reif  9 , Ladislav Tomasek  10 , Lydia B Zablotska  11 , Dominique Laurier  12
Affiliations

PUMA - pooled uranium miners analysis: cohort profile

Estelle Rage et al. Occup Environ Med. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: Epidemiological studies of underground miners have provided clear evidence that inhalation of radon decay products causes lung cancer. Moreover, these studies have served as a quantitative basis for estimation of radon-associated excess lung cancer risk. However, questions remain regarding the effects of exposure to the low levels of radon decay products typically encountered in contemporary occupational and environmental settings on the risk of lung cancer and other diseases, and on the modifiers of these associations. These issues are of central importance for estimation of risks associated with residential and occupational radon exposures.

Methods: The Pooled Uranium Miner Analysis (PUMA) assembles information on cohorts of uranium miners in North America and Europe. Data available include individual annual estimates of exposure to radon decay products, demographic and employment history information on each worker and information on vital status, date of death and cause of death. Some, but not all, cohorts also have individual information on cigarette smoking, external gamma radiation exposure and non-radiological occupational exposures.

Results: The PUMA study represents the largest study of uranium miners conducted to date, encompassing 124 507 miners, 4.51 million person-years at risk and 54 462 deaths, including 7825 deaths due to lung cancer. Planned research topics include analyses of associations between radon exposure and mortality due to lung cancer, cancers other than lung, non-malignant disease, modifiers of these associations and characterisation of overall relative mortality excesses and lifetime risks.

Conclusion: PUMA provides opportunities to evaluate new research questions and to conduct analyses to assess potential health risks associated with uranium mining that have greater statistical power than can be achieved with any single cohort.

Keywords: Radon; cancer; cardiovascular; low-level ionising radiation; uranium miners.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. National Research Council, Committee on Health Risks of Exposure to Radon. Health effects of exposure to radon (BEIR VI). Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1999.
    1. Agency USEP. Radiation Protection: Radon 2007.
    1. Gaskin J, Coyle D, Whyte J et al. Global Estimate of Lung Cancer Mortality Attributable to Residential Radon. Environ Health Perspect 2018;126:057009. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marsh JW, Blanchardon E, Gregoratto D et al. Dosimetric calculations for uranium miners for epidemiological studies. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2012;149:371–83. - PubMed
    1. Marsh JW, Bessa Y, Birchall A et al. Dosimetric models used in the Alpha-Risk project to quantify exposure of uranium miners to radon gas and its progeny. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2008;130:101–6. - PubMed

Publication types