Cataracts among Chernobyl Clean-up Workers: Implications Regarding Permissible Eye Exposures

Abstract Worgul, B. V., Kundiyev, Y. I., Sergiyenko, N. M., Chumak, V. V., Vitte, P. M., Medvedovsky, C., Bakhanova, E. V., Junk, A. K., Kyrychenko, O. Y., Musijachenko, N. V., Shylo, S. A., Vitte, O. P., Xu, S., Xue, X. and Shore, R. E. Cataracts among Chernobyl Clean-up Workers: Implications Regarding Permissible Eye Exposures. Radiat. Res. 167, 233–243 (2007). The eyes of a prospective cohort of 8,607 Chernobyl clean-up workers (liquidators) were assessed for cataract at 12 and 14 years after exposure. The prevalence of strictly age-related cataracts was low, as expected (only 3.9% had nuclear cataracts at either examination), since 90% of the cohort was younger than 55 years of age at first examination. However, posterior subcapsular or cortical cataracts characteristic of radiation exposure were present in 25% of the subjects. The data for Stage 1 cataracts, and specifically for posterior subcapsular cataracts, revealed a significant dose response. When various cataract end points were analyzed for d...