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: 8511351
• 负责人: JOHN Dunning BOICE
• 金额: $ 60.83万
• 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/8511351
• 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; 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 effective; 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.

描述（由申请人提供）：将对 1946 年至 1958 年间在内华达试验场或太平洋试验场参加过 230 次地面大气核武器试验中的一项或多项的 125,000 名美国核退伍军人进行终生癌症风险的量化。将对个别原子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估和风险量化。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、铀和放射性裂变产物）后的特定癌症风险的新知识。先前的研究发现了白血病和其他几种癌症的过量发生，但不可能对辐射剂量进行可靠的估计。待检验的假设是，大约 50 至 60 年前的慢性低剂量辐射暴露可能与白血病和其他疾病（包括冠心病）的增加有关。额外 20 年的死亡率数据将增强我们发现在暴露记录最高的七个大气测试系列中的一项或多项的军事人员中任何与辐射相关的风险的能力，这些测试系列包括城堡、温室、红翼、上旋节、 PLUMBBOB、CROSSROADS 和 HARDTACK I. 将应用统计方法的新发展来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）。将评估所有死亡原因，并重建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的辐射剂量，即之前报告增加的癌症，以及整个队列的 1% 随机样本。重点将放在白血病上，估计已有 1,000 多例白血病病例。 CT X 射线以及放射性核素成像（例如 PET 扫描）的广泛使用突出表明，需要准确估计长期低剂量暴露后的终生辐射风险，因为这种暴露的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张以及使用“脏弹”进行恐怖袭击的可能性进行辩论，对接触放射性物质的人员的风险评估变得更加重要。因此，拟议的研究利用国防部过去 30 年来开发的详细辐射剂量和退伍军人数据，为解决重要的公共卫生和社会问题提供了一个独特、及时和具有成本效益的机会。最后，拟议的项目对于退伍军人及其家人来说很重要，可以更好地了解与他们之前服兵役相关的健康风险。