Cancer Mortality among Military Participants at U.S. Nuclear Weapons Tests

美国核武器试验军事参与者的癌症死亡率

• 批准号: 7891142
• 负责人: JOHN Dunning BOICE
• 金额: $ 83.93万
• 依托单位: VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-07 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7891142
• 关键词: Accounting; Address; Alpha Particles; Breast; Breathing; Cancer Etiology; Cause of Death; Chronic; Coronary heart disease; Coupled; Data; Department of Defense; Development; Disease; Dose; Evaluation; Exposure to; External Beam Radiation Therapy; Family; Financial compensation; Follow-Up Studies; Future; Gamma Rays; Health; Heart Diseases; Individual; Ingestion; Intake; Investigation; Japanese Population; Knowledge; Light; Link; Liver; Low Dose Radiation; Male mammary gland; Malignant Bone Neoplasm; Malignant Neoplasms; Malignant neoplasm of thyroid; Marines; Methodology; Methods; Military Personnel; Nevada; Nuclear; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Weapon; Participant; Persons; Plutonium; Population; Positron-Emission Tomography; Proliferating; Public Health; Radiation; Radiation-Induced Cancer; Radiation-Induced Leukemia; Radioactive; Radioactive Fallout; Radioactive Waste; Radioisotopes; Radionuclide Imaging; Refuse Disposal; Reporting; Research; Risk; Risk Assessment; Sailor; Salivary Glands; Sampling; Scheme; Series; Services; Site; Societies; Soldier; Survivors; Testing; Thyroid Gland; Time; Uncertainty; United States; Uranium; Veterans; base; bone; cancer risk; cohort; coping; cost; dirty bomb; epidemiologic data; experience; follow-up; internal radiation; leukemia; lifetime risk; mortality; nuclear power; public health relevance; reconstruction; response

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The lifetime risk of cancer will be quantified among 125,000 United States atomic veterans who participated at one or more of the 230 aboveground atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site or the Pacific Proving Ground between 1946 and 1958. Reliable estimates of radiation dose for individual atomic veterans will be made which were not possible in previous investigations. Advances in dose reconstruction methods will permit dose-response evaluations and risk quantification. New knowledge will be sought on specific cancer risks following protracted low-dose exposure to external and internal radiation, including the inhalation and ingestion of plutonium, uranium and radioactive fission products. Previous studies identified excesses of leukemia and several other cancers, but reliable estimates of radiation dose were not possible. The hypothesis to be tested is that chronic low-dose radiation exposure some 50 to 60 years ago can be linked to increases in leukemia and other diseases, including coronary heart disease. An additional 20 years of mortality data will enhance our ability to uncover any radiation-related risks among military personnel present at one or more of the seven atmospheric test series with the highest recorded exposures, i.e., CASTLE, GREENHOUSE, REDWING, UPSHOT- KNOTHOLE, PLUMBBOB, CROSSROADS and HARDTACK I. New developments in statistical methodologies will be applied to account for the uncertainty in the estimated radiation doses. Preliminary estimates indicate a broad range of doses from minimal (< 1 mSv or 0.10 rem) to over 900 mSv (or 90 rem). All causes of death will be evaluated, and radiation doses will be reconstructed for all veterans who died of leukemia and cancers of the thyroid, salivary gland, male breast, liver and bone, i.e., for cancers previously reported to be increased, as well as on a 1% random sample of the entire cohort. The focus will be on leukemia for which over 1,000 cases are estimated to have occurred. The proliferating use of CT x-ray as well as radionuclide imaging (e.g., PET scans) highlights the need for accurate estimates of lifetime radiation risk following chronic low-dose exposures for which cumulative population doses could be substantial. The evaluation of risks among persons with exposure to radioactive substances assumes greater importance as society debates expansion of nuclear energy and associated nuclear waste and the possibility of terrorist attacks with "dirty bombs." The proposed study thus provides a unique, timely and cost-effective opportunity to address important public health and societal issues, taking advantage of detailed radiation dose and veteran data already developed by the Department of Defense over the past 30 years. Finally, the proposed project is important to veterans and their families in providing a better understanding of the health risks associated with their prior military service. Public Health Relevance: Atomic veterans who participated in any of the 230 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site and the Pacific Proving Ground between 1946 and 1958 could have been exposed to various types of radiation including gamma rays, alpha particles and intakes of radioactive substances such as plutonium, uranium and fallout products. Results of this study will provide new knowledge on the lifetime risk of cancer following relatively low-dose exposures received gradually over time. Such information is helpful in understanding the very long-term consequences of radiation exposures and assumes greater importance today in light of the proliferating use of CT x-ray and radionuclide imaging, the possible expansion of nuclear power, and concerns over nuclear waste disposal and terrorist attacks with "dirty bombs."

描述（由申请人提供）：将对125，000名美国原子能退伍军人的终生癌症风险进行量化，这些退伍军人在1946年至1958年期间参加了在内华达州试验场或太平洋试验场进行的230次地面大气层核武器试验中的一次或多次试验。将对个别原子能退伍军人的辐射剂量进行可靠的估计，这在以前的调查中是不可能的。剂量重建方法的进步将允许剂量反应评价和风险量化。将寻求关于长期低剂量暴露于外部和内部辐射，包括吸入和摄入钚、铀和放射性裂变产品后的具体癌症风险的新知识。以前的研究确定了白血病和其他几种癌症的过量，但不可能对辐射剂量进行可靠的估计。有待检验的假设是，大约50至60年前的慢性低剂量辐射照射可能与白血病和包括冠心病在内的其他疾病的增加有关。另外20年的死亡率数据将提高我们的能力，以发现在七个大气测试系列中一个或多个具有最高记录照射的军事人员中存在的任何与辐射有关的风险，即，城堡，温室，红屋，上射- KNOTHOLE，PLUMBBOB，十字路口和HARDTACK一。统计方法的新发展将用于解释估计辐射剂量的不确定性。初步估计表明，剂量范围很广，从最小（< 1 mSv或0.10 rem）到超过900 mSv（或90 rem）。将对所有死亡原因进行评估，并将为所有死于白血病和甲状腺癌、唾液腺癌、男性乳腺癌、肝癌和骨癌的退伍军人重建辐射剂量，即，对于先前报告增加的癌症，以及整个队列的1%随机样本。重点将放在白血病上，据估计已有1 000多例白血病。CT X射线以及放射性核素成像（例如，PET扫描）突出表明，需要准确估计长期低剂量照射后的终生辐射风险，因为累积人口剂量可能很大。随着社会对核能和相关核废料的扩大以及恐怖分子使用“脏弹”进行袭击的可能性展开辩论，对接触放射性物质的人的风险进行评估变得更加重要。“因此，拟议的研究提供了一个独特的，及时的和具有成本效益的机会，以解决重要的公共卫生和社会问题，利用详细的辐射剂量和退伍军人数据已经开发的国防部在过去30年。最后，拟议的项目是重要的退伍军人和他们的家人在提供一个更好地了解与他们以前的军事服务的健康风险。 公共卫生相关性：1946年至1958年期间，在内华达州试验场和太平洋试验场参加过230次大气层核武器试验的原子能老兵可能受到各种类型的辐射，包括伽马射线、α粒子和放射性物质的摄入，如钚、铀和沉降产物。这项研究的结果将提供关于随着时间的推移逐渐接受相对低剂量照射后终生癌症风险的新知识。这些信息有助于了解辐射照射的长期后果，而且在当今，鉴于CT X射线和放射性核素成像的使用日益增多、核能的可能扩展以及对核废料处置和恐怖分子使用“脏弹”进行袭击的关切，这些信息具有更大的重要性。"