[Risks of cancer among workers of the nuclear industry]

The epidemiological studies on cancer incidence or mortality among workers in the nuclear industry have been reviewed in a comparative manner. The results concerning workers monitored for external radiation or internal contamination and those on female workers have been analysed separately. A lower cancer risk was found in most studies, which is explained by the "healthy worker effect"; no difference was found between the workers with or without a radiation record. A high rate was found for a few cancers at specific sites, but results were variable in the different studies and no relationship was found between cumulative dose and excess mortality due to cancer. A link between ionizing radiation, multiple myeloma and prostatic cancer was indicated in more than one study; in the latter case, there might be a relationship with internal contamination, especially by tritium. In spite of the difficulties and limitations involved, it is important to pursue these studies and pool them, in order to directly evaluate the risks of cancer following exposure to low-dose radiation and low dose rates, instead of calculating these by extrapolation from high doses.