HSE investigation of leukaemia and other cancers in the children of male workers at Sellafield.

  • Great Britain. Health and Safety Executive.
Date:
1993
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: HSE investigation of leukaemia and other cancers in the children of male workers at Sellafield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    89/232 (page 81)
    40 As the matching was done blind to case/control status, the factors mentioned above which led to differential matching rates among the workforce, ie timing of the child’s birth with respect to a father’s dates of starting and leaving employment, status as a staff or industrial employee, and as ever a radiation worker or otherwise, would apply equally to the matching of cases and of controls. A fuller description of the results of the analysis of matched versus expected birth numbers is given elsewhere’. 41 42 43 44 For the 39 successfully matched cases, and for 1 case that was expected to be matched, but for which the required information could not be found, independent confirmation of the date and nature of the diagnosis was sought. For each case, the following identifying details were assembled: (a) name; (b) date of birth; (c) place of birth; (d) NHS number; (e) diagnosis; (f) anniversary date; (g) date of death, if relevant. A list with this information was submitted to the Oxford Childhood Cancer Registry (OCCR) with a request for an indication whether the cases were held on that register. Detailed information, site and type codes for each relevant edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)* was provided by the OCCR for those cases confirmed. Of the 40, a total of 19 were identified on the register. Of these, however, 3 were recorded as non-neoplastic. One of these 3 had been diagnosed as myelofibrosis, which is not considered to be neoplastic in the 9th revision of the ICD and was rejected on that basis. A list comprising those cases for whom the OCCR could give no help was then submitted to Professor Craft at Newcastle, with the same request for advice. Of the 21 cases submitted, information was available on 13, and again, site and type codes were supplied. One case of anaemia had been included in the case list on the basis that this may have been secondary to leukaemic disease not specifically recorded, but there was no evidence to confirm the original suspicion. At this stage, 7 cases remained with no confirmation. These were all cases which had been diagnosed outside the NHS Northern Region and in all of whom the diagnosis had been made at or over the age of 16 years (16, 19, 20, 22 and 24 x 3). From the