New early lung cancer detection program offers free CT scans to Nevada Test Site workers

By Conor Shine

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012 | 6:18 p.m.

Years of exposure to radiation, asbestos and other construction materials at the Nevada Test Site have left many former workers with health ailments related to their jobs, including increased incidences of cancer.

For years, the U.S. Department of Energy has provided medical care and screenings to these workers, and Wednesday, the department announced the expansion of an early lung cancer screening program into Las Vegas.

The new program will provide free low-dose CT scans to eligible workers from the Nevada Test Site, many of whom were exposed to radiation or carcinogenic materials such as asbestos, silica and beryllium.

The low-dose CT scans can identify signs of lung cancer development far earlier than chest X-rays, the traditional diagnostic method, allowing doctors to intervene sooner and increasing the chances the cancer can be treated successfully.

“The tool we had was a rather blunt instrument. Chest X-rays really weren’t recommended for early recognition of lung cancer,” said Dr. Lewis Pepper, a co-investigator for the Worker Health Protection Program.

“The integration of early lung cancer detection through low-dose CT scans will make it possible to allow a certain percentage of individuals with lung cancer to be diagnosed and treated in a timely way so that their life expectancy can be significantly improved.”

The Worker Health Protection Program is operated through a DOE grant and provides blood, hearing and lung testing to workers exposed to hazardous materials at various DOE sites.

A similar early lung cancer screening program was launched in 2000 in Kentucky and Tennessee, but it is just now being brought to Nevada because of budgetary and bureaucratic constraints, Pepper said.

Ed Gering, who spent four years working on various construction projects at the Nevada Test Site in the 1980s, said workers were vaguely aware that they were being exposed to potentially dangerous materials at the time.

“I was aware on a real rudimentary level that this is a facility where they test nuclear devices,” he said. “But there was nothing formal in terms of education.”

Even though he hasn’t suffered any ailments he can attribute to his time at the test site, Gering said he still plans to get the lung cancer screening.

“Sometimes you’re feeling fine and don’t anticipate getting sick,” he said. “I want to prevent any type of advanced health issue."

Regardless of the potential impacts on his health, Gering said he was proud of the work he and others did at the test site, and that he still would have worked there had he known about the hazardous materials.

“I was aware of the risks,” he said. “I believed in what we were doing.”

Eligibility for the free low-dose CT scans will be based on several criteria, Pepper said, including age, amount of time spent working at the test site and type of job performed there. Pepper estimated that initially about 2,600 former employees would be eligible for the screenings.

The scans will be done by Desert Radiologistsat their northwest location, 200 Cathedral Rock Drive.

Dr. Whitney Edmister, a radiologist with Desert Radiologists, said a typical scan takes only a few seconds and patients can expect their visit to take less than an hour. A low-dose CT scan typically costs about $250, he said.

For more information on eligibility, call 1-866-228-7226 or visit worker-health.org.