The Zablotska Research Group received funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a data coordination center at UCSF to support an international pooled analysis of uranium workers (iPAUW). Lydia Zablotska, MD, PhD, MPA, is the principal investigator of this first-ever pooled study of uranium workers and will analyze the long-term health risks to workers involved in uranium milling, processing and refining by pooling individual-level data from uranium processing facilities in five countries: Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States.
Using a uniform approach to harmonize exposure estimation methods for uranium, radon decay products and gamma-ray radiation exposures, researchers will estimate radiation risks of low-dose radiation exposures delivered at low exposure rates and verify current occupational radiation safety standards for this group of workers.
The DOE plans to contribute $571,000 to the iPAUW study, which has already received over $1.2 million in funding from the United States National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Committee, and radiation regulatory agencies in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.