O6B.6 Occupational radiation exposure and the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases among medical radiation workers

Background Medical radiation workers occupy the largest group of radiation workers and the numbers are rapidly increasing worldwide. This presentation purposes to report findings from the Korean medical radiation workers’ study. Methods Data on all diagnostic medical radiation workers enrolled at the national dose registry between 1996 and 2011 (n=94,396) were merged with the death and cancer incidence data with coverage through the end of 2015. We reconstructed historical radiation doses and estimated organ-specific doses for all workers. The cancer risks were calculated using standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), excess relative risk (ERR), and lifetime attributable risk (LAR). For radiologic technologists (n=12,906), we conducted a survey and merged the data with the national health insurance data of 2006–2016 for investigation of non-cancer diseases. Results The mean cumulative badge doses for all workers were 10.6 mSv (men) and 2.7 mSv (women). Medical radiation workers have more favorable mortality than in general population for all causes of death among men (SMR=0.45) and women (SMR=0.49). Based on 2192 of primary cancer cases, the SIR for all cancers significantly decreased in men (SIR=0.88) and increased in women (SIR=1.10). However, there were no significant ERRs of all cancer incidences in both men and women. LARs for all cancer combined ranged from 9 to 402 per 1 00 000 varied by sex and job title. Among radiologic technologists, the odds ratios for cardiovascular diseases showed a significant increasing trend with colon doses (trend p=0.024) after adjusting for potential risk factors. Conclusions Our findings provide some evidence of occupation radiation exposure and its health effects among medical radiation workers. The risks were generally small but not acceptable at high risk groups. Continuous monitoring and further follow-up is warranted to optimize the work practices for the protection of potential health risks in medical radiation workers.