Worker Health Impact Studies

What we actually know in terms of the health impact of activities at Santa Susana Field Laboratory is somewhat limited. From 1993 to 1999, Morgenstern and Ritz conducted three cohort studies using data collected from people who worked at SSFL between 1950 and 1993. In their study regarding internal radiation (defined as inhalation/ingestion of alpha-emitting radionuclides like uranium), they found strong associations between cumulative doses of exposure and lymphopoietic and upper-aerodigestive-tract cancers. In a study of the effects of external radiation (defined as penetration of the body by gamma and x-rays), they found the rate of cancer mortality increased with cumulative radiation dose. Finally, when they looked at the records for workers who had been exposed to chemicals associated with rocket engine testing (like hydrazine), they found positive associations between exposure and rates of dying from cancers of the lung, lymphopoietic system, bladder and kidneys.

Because workers were young their health was generally better than the larger population. However, there was still a statistically significant dose-response relationship documented by the investigators (despite the healthy worker effect) and this confirms that there was an impact on the health of the workers. These studies were limited as they relied on secondary data (data that were not collected expressly for the purposes of this study) and there was no funding to revisit the records and follow-up on the participants and determine mortality rates.

Reference:
Authors: Morgenstern, H and Ritz, B.
Article Title: Effects of Radiation and Chemical Exposures on Cancer Mortality Among Rocketdyne Workers: A Review of Three Cohort Studies.
Journal: Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, Vol. 16, No. 2, April-June 2001, pages 219-238.

Media Sampling Studies

Since the mid 1980s, many studies and meetings have been conducted regarding the activities at SSFL. These studies have monitored the type and quantity of radiation and chemicals present both on-site and off-site. The Urban Archives Center, located at the University Library of the California State University, Northridge (CSUN) houses a well-organized archive of materials concerning SSFL that is available to the public weekdays from 9 am - 4:30 pm. An index of selective media sampling materials, with a general description of their contents is available (See Resource Archive)

When looking at these reports, it is important to keep in mind several points:

1. the methods by which media are studied have likely changed over time (i.e. they may be more sophisticated).
2. different companies have conducted the studies and it is possible that these companies have different sampling protocols.
3. there have been different goals for the many projects over time and this may have resulted in subtle or undistinguishable differences in the subject matter studied.
4. each of these matters, together and separate, make it difficult to compare studies from one year to the next.

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