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