Malignant melanoma among employees of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Abstract

19 cases of malignant melanoma (MM) were observed during 1972-77 among approximately 5100 employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where high energy physics research is conducted. This number was significantly higher (p less than 2 X 10(-6)) than that expected in a comparable age/race/sex/geographical segment of the population of the San Francisco Bay Area. The excess seemed to occur only among laboratory employees and not among the surrounding community, which suggests that an occupational factor is responsible. Preliminary case-comparison findings suggest that MM risk is not associated with length of employment at the laboratory nor with type of monitored radiation exposure. Although the data did not support an association between MM incidence and all scientific job classifications combined, an excess relative risk was observed among chemists. The reasons for the MM excess have not been identified.