The cancer risk among workers of the nuclear centre at Świerk, Poland

Dosimetric information concerning 4606 workers at the nuclear centre at Świerk (Poland) from 1956 to 2001 and medical records of 575 workers are reviewed. The average cumulative doses per person were 34 mSv (effective dose) and 18 mSv (equivalent dose to hands). The calculated odds ratio of cancers, OR = 0.90 (0.62–1.18; 68% CI), shows a statistically insignificant decrease of the cancer risk among the irradiated workers. No cancer cases were detected neither among 52 people exposed to the highest cumulative doses (from 35 to 653 mSv) nor among 43 workers who had been chronically irradiated for a long time (from 13 to 26 years).