Public Health Activities Site Plan
Draft for Public Comment
Nuclear Naval Shipyard Workers
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/DOE/book3.html#nuclear
from
 Draft Agenda for Public Health Activities for Fiscal Years 1999 and 2000 at U.S. Department of Energy Sites, April 1999
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/DOE/book-toc.html

Background

The U.S. Nuclear Navy Shipyards (NNS) built the first nuclear-powered ship, the USS Nautilus, which went to sea in 1955. Since that time, the Navy has developed shipyard nuclear capabilities at Kittery, Maine (near Portsmouth, New Hampshire); New London, Connecticut; Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; Mare Island, California; Puget Sound, Washington; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At each of these sites, nuclear-powered ships have been constructed, overhauled, repaired, refueled, or inactivated. Approximately 700,000 civilians have been employed at these facilities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed or proposed for listing five sites which include nuclear naval shipyards on the National Priorities List (NPL): the New London Submarine Base, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex.

The New London Submarine Base covers 1,412 acres on the east bank of the Thames River, at New London, New London County, Connecticut. The area around the base is mixed industrial, commercial, and residential property. The base was established in 1916, and it now serves primarily as an operation and support base for submarine activities in the Atlantic Ocean. According to Navy tests conducted in 1984, sediment and surface water in and around an area known as Area A are contaminated with lead, cadmium, 4,4-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), and 4,4-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) dates to 1767 and was the largest shipyard in the world devoted exclusively to ship construction, repair, and overhaul. Lying along the southern branch of the Elizabeth River near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, the shipyard is centrally located in the tidewater region of southeastern Virginia. Fisheries, wetlands, and other sensitive environments are located downstream from the site.

The Pearl Harbor Naval Complex occupies at least 6,300 acres in Pearl Harbor on the Island of Oahu, Honolulu County, Hawaii. Land around the complex supports agriculture, aquaculture, and industry as well as commercial and residential usage. The Pearl Harbor Naval Complex began operation in 1901 when the Navy received an appropriation to acquire land for a naval station. After the Japanese attack on the base on December 7, 1941, industrial activity at the complex skyrocketed and 24,000 civilians were employed by mid-1943.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) is located on Seavey Island in the Piscataqua River in Kittery, York County, Maine. The PNS property also includes the undeveloped Clark's Island, which is connected by a bridge to Seavey Island. The Portsmouth shipyard was established in 1690 and became a Navy shipyard in 1800. During its operational history, the shipyard was used for the construction of ships and submarines. Currently the shipyard overhauls and refurbishes attack submarines and nuclear propulsion fleet ballistic missile submarines. Dredged sediment samples collected in the late 1970s near the industrial outfalls were found to contain elevated concentrations of metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other contaminants. In addition, hazardous substances attributable to PNS are present at elevated levels in wetlands bordering Seavey Island.

The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex is located in Bremerton, Washington, along Sinclair Inlet on Puget Sound, approximately 15 miles west of Seattle. The Navy has owned and operated facilities at this location since 1891. The complex consists of a naval shipyard and a naval supply center and employs more than 12,000 people. EPA has identified 58 known or potential sources of contamination at the complex. In 1990 and 1991, the Navy found elevated levels of heavy metals, semivolatile organic compounds, PCBs, and pesticides in surface soils, subsurface soils, and groundwater in a number of areas throughout the complex, as well as in sediments of Sinclair Inlet adjacent to the shipyard.

What have we learned from studies and assessments of nuclear naval shipyards?

Off-Site Contamination

 

• In a public health assessment for the New London Submarine Base, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) determined that in the past, watercourses downstream from Area A posed a public health hazard to children who came in contact with sediment contaminated with DDT and lead. A security fence installed by the Navy now prevents children from coming in contact with the contaminated sediment, and therefore the site is no longer a public health hazard.

  Based on data the Navy collected from 23 off-base private residential wells, ATSDR considers the concentration of lead in one of the 23 wells to be a public health hazard for children and the fetuses of pregnant women. Sodium levels in six residential wells are of public health concern for persons on salt-restricted diets.

   

• Five of the six major waste sources at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard are located along or near Paradise Creek. Analysis of samples of sediments in Paradise Creek collected in 1986 and 1992 detected the presence of metals, PCBs, pesticides, and semivolatile organic compounds in reaches of the creek adjacent to the sources evaluated.

   

• At the Pearl Harbor Complex, tetrachloroethene was found 15.2 feet below ground surface in one area. Soils beneath the site are permeable, facilitating movement of contaminants into groundwater. Approximately 110,700 people obtain drinking water from wells within 2 miles of the six sources.

  In 1988, the Navy detected bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in sediment samples taken from a national wildlife refuge area that borders an abandoned Navy landfill. The refuge contains wetlands and is the habitat for four endangered species. Pearl Harbor and nearby portions of the Pacific Ocean contain recreational and commercial fisheries; water-contact recreation areas; wetlands; and habitats for endangered species.

   

• ATSDR has been providing assistance to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard since 1993. ATSDR conducted a public health consultation on possible contamination of local seafood in fiscal year 1995. Agency analysis concluded that fish and shellfish from the areas near the shipyard do not present any health hazard to the general population. ATSDR made specific recommendations regarding maximum consumption levels for subsistence consumers and pregnant and nursing mothers.

Community Health Studies and Activities

 

• ATSDR has evaluated information in the Connecticut Tumor Registry Data Base to determine if an elevated cancer incidence exists within the towns of Groton and Ledyard near the New London Submarine Base. In Groton and Ledyard, in the male "all types" category (all types of cancer combined), cancer rates are slightly elevated as compared to the rate for state of Connecticut.

Studies of the Health of Nuclear Naval Shipyard Workers

 

• A cohort mortality epidemiologic analysis of workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard completed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found no significant excess mortality from any cause. However, later case-control studies of lung cancer and leukemia in this group of workers did have positive findings. Excess lung cancer mortality was associated with external radiation for workers with cumulative occupational doses of 1.0 to 4.999 rem. These same workers were also potentially exposed to welding fumes and asbestos. The relative importance of these three agents in the development of the lung cancers could not be determined. In the other case-control study, significant excesses of leukemia were found for welders and electricians.

   

• In an unpublished study, Matanoski et al. completed an epidemiologic study of workers at nuclear naval shipyards. Excess numbers of pleural mesothelioma were observed among radiation and non-radiation workers. No association was found between ionizing radiation exposures and risk of death from leukemia or any other type of cancer.

What are the current studies and public health activities at the nuclear naval shipyards?

Community Involvement

 

• The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has established restoration advisory boards at the sites that are listed on the NPL.

Off-Site Contamination

 

• There are no ongoing studies of off-site contamination.

Community Health Studies and Activities

 

• There are no community health studies for these sites.

Occupational Health Studies

 

• The NIOSH cohort mortality study of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, a mortality study of civilian employees at PNS, will be updated through 1997. Through an agreement with the Naval Sea Systems Command, the cohort has been expanded to include all individuals employed through 1992. Case-control studies will also be done, as indicated by a review of the data. The study will also determine whether external ionizing radiation is related to the risk of death from leukemia or lung cancer and whether asbestos exposure or other known carcinogens present at the shipyard are confounding these relationships.

   

• A case-control study for leukemia, the largest of its kind, is exploring the relationship between external radiation and leukemia risk among 250 workers with leukemia compared to similar workers without leukemia. About 250 leukemia deaths have been identified from four Department of Energy (DOE) sites and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Confounding exposures to internal radiation, chemicals, and electromagnetic fields will be evaluated for all cases and controls.

   

• NIOSH will contribute study data from PNS workers to an international collaborative study of nuclear workers in 14 countries. This study is sponsored by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and is the largest cancer mortality study ever of nuclear workers.

What are the gaps in our knowledge and what important issues need to be addressed?

 

• There is a need to determine if wastes released from PNS have resulted in off-site exposures at levels that could cause adverse health affects.

   

• There is a need to determine whether the current occupational radiation exposure limits are adequate for radiation workers.

   

• Internal dosimetry of radiation workers is not well characterized or understood, and the relationship between internal radiation dose and health effects needs to be evaluated.

   

• Results from ongoing mortality studies need to be evaluated to improve understanding of the causes of cancer and chronic diseases. Additional studies can be proposed to focus on a single disease in worker groups.

   

• There is a need to ensure that complete records, including industrial hygiene and work history data for the various levels of subcontractors at each site, are available.

   

• The Matanoski cohort mortality study of civilian naval shipyard employees, including those at PNS, was funded by DOE. The study followed approximately 700,000 nuclear Navy workers for 13 years, through 1981. An update of this study at this time would add at least 15 years of mortality data for this cohort. Recently, the DOE Office of Naval Reactors has requested that this large study be updated. Following an analysis of existing information, which has never been published, and related gaps, NIOSH will ascertain the costs and merits as well as funding mechanisms for the study. The proposed study would then require approval by the Advisory Committee for Energy-Related Epidemiologic Research.

Proposed Activities

Ongoing Activities

The agencies propose to continue the projects already underway which were listed previously.

New Activities for FY 1999 and FY 2000

 

• There are no new activities planned for FY 1999 and FY 2000.

Activities for Which the Funding Source is External to the Memorandum of Understanding Between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 

• Within the constraints of available Department of Defense funding, ATSDR will be conducting public health assessments to evaluate the potential health hazards, if any, from activities at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Complex.

   

• ATSDR will provide health consultations to DOD, DOE, and the community as requested. These consultations will evaluate and address specific questions regarding site remediation or community concerns.