a defined group of participants in the atmospheric nuclear-weapons testing program, especially assumptions concerned with the group’s exposure to ionizing radiation.

geometric mean:

The nth root of the product of n observations or predictions of a quantity.

geometric standard deviation:

The exponential of the standard deviation of the natural logarithms of a set of values.

gray:

The special name for the SI unit of absorbed dose; 1 Gy = 1 J kg⁻¹.

ground zero:

The point on the surface of land or water at or vertically below or above the center of the burst of a nuclear weapon.

half-life:

The time required for half the atoms of a particular radionuclide to decay to another nuclear state.

Hodgkin’s disease:

A type of lymphoma that appears to originate in a particular lymph node and to spread to the spleen, liver, and bone marrow and is characterized by progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes, spleen, and general lymph tissue.

incidence:

The rate of occurrence of new cases of a specific disease, calculated as the number of new cases during a specified period divided by the number of individuals at risk of the disease during that period.

internal dose:

The dose to organs or tissues of the body due to sources of ionizing radiation in the body.

International System of Units (SI):

A modern version of the meter-kilogram-second-ampere system of units, which is published and controlled by an international treaty organization (International Bureau of Weights and Measures).

ion:

An atom or molecule that carries a positive or negative electric charge as a result of having lost or gained one or more electrons.

ionizing radiation:

Any radiation capable of displacing electrons from atoms or molecules, thereby producing ions. Examples include alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays or x rays, and cosmic rays. The minimum energy of ionizing radiation is a few electron volts (eV); 1 eV = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ joules (J).

isopleth:

A line on a map connecting points at which a given variable is assumed to have a specified constant value.

isotope:

A form of a particular chemical element determined by the number of neutrons in the atomic nucleus. An element may have many stable or unstable (radioactive) isotopes.

isotropic:

Exhibiting properties with the same values in all spatial directions.

kiloton:

A measure of explosive force equivalent to that of 1,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT).

latent period:

The earliest time after exposure to a carcinogenic agent when a cancer caused by that exposure can be manifested; also called latency period.

Latin hypercube sampling method:

A technique of stratified random sampling from specified probability distributions of variables in which the distribu

Front Matter (R1-R16)

Public Summary (1-4)

Executive Summary (5-14)

I. Introduction (15-43)

II. The Committee's Process (44-50)

III. The Process of Submitting and Deciding Claims (51-64)

IV. Process of Dose Reconstruction in NTPR Program (65-123)

V. Committee's Findings Related to NTPR Dose Reconstruction Program (124-230)

VI. Findings Related to Other Issues (231-256)

VII. Conclusions (257-264)

VIII. Recommendations (265-266)

References (267-278)

Appendix A: Examples of Dose Reconstruction Memoranda From Sample Cases Reviewed by Committee (279-290)

Appendix B: Sampled Case Files of Dose Reconstructions Reviewed by Committee (291-301)

Appendix C: Names of Invited Speakers and Interactions with Veterans (302-304)

Appendix D: Responses to Committee's Questions (305-334)

Appendix E: Analysis of Potential Inhalation Doses Due to Blast-Wave Effects at Operation PLUMBBOB, Shot HOOD, and Implications for Dose Reconstructions for Atomic Veterans (335-348)

Appendix F: Unit Dose Reconstruction for Task Force Warrior at Operation PLUMBBOB, Shot SMOKY (349-360)

Glossary (361-378)

List of Abbreviations (379-380)

Committee Biographies (381-384)

Index (385-399)