Occupational Energy Research Program

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS)

Located near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has a long history. In 1800, the shipyard was created by the government to build warships. Around the time of World War I, PNS also began building submarines. Following World War II, it became the center for designing and constructing submarines though the 1960s. Today, PNS continues to support the submarine fleet through overhaul and modernization.

Fact sheets

Nuclear workers from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard have been included in many NIOSH studies. Below are fact sheets that summarize some of the study findings for workers.

Multi-site leukemia worker notification (March 2008) presented at worker briefing September 2008.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) cohort mortality study (2005)
PDF document

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) leukemia case-control study (2005)
PDF document

Publications from NIOSH studies done at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

A nested case-control study of lung cancer risk and ionizing radiation exposure at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (2007)

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and radiation: findings among workers at five US nuclear facilities and a review of the recent literature. (2007)

Risk of myeloid and acute leukemia mortality following exposure to ionizing radiation among workers at four U.S. nuclear weapons facilities and a nuclear naval shipyard. (2007)

Inter-rater agreement for a retrospective exposure assessment of asbestos, chromium, nickel and welding fumes in a study of lung cancer and ionizing radiation. (2007)

A comparison of statistical methods for estimation of less than detectable ionising radiation exposures. (2006)

Bone marrow dose estimates from work-related medical x-ray examinations given between 1943 and 1966 for personnel from five U.S. nuclear facilities. (2006)

A nested case-control study of leukemia and ionizing radiation at the portsmouth naval shipyard. (2005) NIOSH Publication No. 2005-104; 182 pgs.

Assessment of plutonium exposures for an epidemiological study of US nuclear workers. (2005)

Bias and uncertainty of penetrating photon dose measured by film dosimeters in an epidemiologic study of US nuclear workers. (2005)

Radiation exposure from work-related medical x-rays at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (2005)

Risk of cancer after low doses of ionising radiation: retrospective cohort study in 15 countries. (2005)

Risk of lung cancer and leukemia from exposure to ionizing radiation and potential confounders among workers at the portsmouth naval shipyard. (2005)

Differences in mortality by radiation monitoring status in an expanded cohort of portsmouth naval shipyard workers. (2004)

Radiation exposure assessment for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard health studies. (2004)

Leukemia mortality among radiation-exposed workers. (2001)

Related websites

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
External link: http://www.navsea.navy.mil/shipyards/portsmouth/defaulst.aspx

Medical screening programs available to workers

Building Trades National Medical Screening Program
External link: http://www.btmed.org
To learn more, call 1-800-866-9663