Under the mandates of Public Laws 98-542 and 100-321, DNA continues to identify
nuclear test participants, their radiation risk activities, and the resultant
radiation doses, thereby facilitating the health care and/or compensation of
veterans as authorized by these laws.
The VA advises that free medical
examinations are available at VA facilities to any former military test
participant, as well as medical care for conditions that the VA considers to be
related to exposure to ionizing radiation.
For the relatively few individuals
who received doses in excess of today's Federal guidance (less than one percent
of all participants), DNA has established personal contact with each for which
an address could be found and encouraged them to undergo this examination.
No
adverse health effects attributable to radiation exposure have been detected
among this unique higher-dose group of veterans.
fi
Lis)
DNA continues
Pind:
to expand upon
its
work
to
research the many
surrounding the nation's atmospheric nuclear test program.
important
issues
To date:
°
Over 200,000 test participants have been identified and researched as to
their specific involvement and their recorded radiation exposure.
oO
Extensive dose reconstruction methodologies,
developed to provide a
comprehensive analysis of both external dose and internal dose commitment,
have
been
published
in
the
Federal
Register
and
reviewed by many
of
the
country's leading experts.
These methodologies have been applied to most
Participating units as well as to individual circumstances of exposure, to
determine total doses to participating veterans.
fo)
Research
indicates
that
averaging about 0.625 rem.
doses
to
most
DoD
personnel
were
quite
low,
This is one-eighth the current Federal Guideline
for allowable dose to radiation workers, which permits up to 5 rem per year.
Even at the currently allowable dose, there is a very low risk of causing
any type of radiogenic disease above that normally expected
general population exposed to background levels of radiation.
in
the
°
Hundreds of thousands of pages of data have been recovered and researched,
including over a thousand basic test reports, many of which had to be
declassified, reprinted, and indexed for public use.
°
Original
dosimetry
°
At
request,
source
documents
have
been
and
are
still
being
re-examined for accuracy and completeness.
Individual involvement at the
tests is continually researched to insure that all dose potential has been
documented and considered.
DNA'’s
the
National
Academy
of
Sciences
(NAS)
conducted
an
extensive study of mortality of more than 46,000 nuclear test participants.
The study, entitled "Mortality of Nuclear Weapons Test Participants," found
"
..no
consistent
evidence
of
increased
deaths
from cancer
or
any
other
diseases overall."
An additional NAS study on mortality of the 42,000
Participants at CROSSROADS is now being conducted and will provide, in about
four
years,
disease
in
scientific
this
interpretation of
large
information
population.
recorded doses as
on
To
deaths
ensure
due
to
the
most
radiogenic
accurate
it may relate to health effects,
the NAS