Abstract
Underground uranium mining was performed in East Germany after World War II on a large scale. Working conditions were very poor during the post-war years from approx. 1946 to 1955. During later years mining conditions improved. In 1990, uranium production was generally stopped as a consequence of German reunification. A company-based health care system commenced in the early years with an annual routine medical check-up including chest X-ray. A central Wismut institution for occupational medicine was founded in 1968. Since reunification, the German Workers' Compensation Board is organizing post-exposural occupational medical care and compensation for former miners. Compensable occupational diseases include silicosis and Schneeberg lung disease (bronchial carcinoma of uranium miners). A current topic is the question of acknowledgement of extrapulmonary malignoma as a compensable disease in uranium miners. With a certain cumulated exposure as a prerequisite, bone and liver cancer and certain types of leukemia are likely to be accepted.
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Enderle, G., Friedrich, K. Uranium mining in East Germany (“Wismut”): health consequences, occupational medical care and workers' compensation. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 72 (Suppl 3), M042–M049 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00014215
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00014215