National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

RADIATION DOSE RECONSTRUCTION for Epidemiologic Uses

Committee on an Assessment of CDC Radiation Studies

Board on Radiation Effects Research

Commission on Life Sciences

National Research Council

National Academy Press
Washington, D.C. 1995

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20418

The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the governing board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

This project was prepared under contract 200-91-0951 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Radiation dose reconstruction for epidemiologic uses / Committee on an Assessment of CDC Radiation Studies, Board on Radiation Effects Research, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-309-05099-5

1. Radiation injuries—Epidemiology—Statistical Methods. 2. Radiation dosimetry. 

I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on an Assessment of CDC Radiation Studies.

RA569.R25 1995

616.9'897—dc20

95-10524

Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

COMMITTEE ON AN ASSESSMENT OF CDC RADIATION STUDIES

WILLIAM J. SCHULL (Chairman),

University of Texas, Houston, Texas

STEPHEN A. BENJAMIN,

Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado

ANDRÉ BOUVILLE,

National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland

GEOFFREY G. EICHHOLZ,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia

J. CHARLES JENNETT,

Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

LEEKA I. KHEIFETS,

Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California

JAMES E. MARTIN,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

CHRISTOPHER B. NELSON,

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.

HENRY D. ROYAL,

Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri

ROY E. SHORE,

New York University Medical Center, New York, New York

ROBERT G. THOMAS,

Argonne National Laboratory

(ret.),

Argonne, Illinois

HENRY N. WAGNER, JR.,

The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland

JAMES M. WALL,

The Christian Century, Chicago, Illinois

National Research Council Staff

EVAN B. DOUPLE, Study Director

MAURITA DOW-MASSEY, Project Assistant

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant

SPONSOR'S PROJECT OFFICER

JAMES M. SMITH,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

BOARD ON RADIATION EFFECTS RESEARCH

WARREN K. SINCLAIR (Chairman),

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements

(ret.),

Bethesda, Maryland

DOUGLAS GRAHN,

Argonne National Laboratory

(ret.),

Madison, Indiana

(member until June 30, 1994)

ERIC J. HALL,

Columbia University, New York, New York

(member until June 30, 1994)

MAUREEN M. HENDERSON,

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

LEONARD S. LERMAN,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

JOHN B. LITTLE,

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

JONATHAN M. SAMET,

The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

WILLIAM J. SCHULL,

University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas

(member as of July 1, 1994)

THOMAS S. TENFORDE,

Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington

SUSAN S. WALLACE,

University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

(member as of July 1, 1994)

H. RODNEY WITHERS,

UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

National Research Council Staff

JOHN D. ZIMBRICK, Director

CHARLES W. EDINGTON, Director,

RERFP

EVAN B. DOUPLE, Senior Program Officer

LARRY H. TOBUREN, Senior Program Officer

CATHERINE S. BERKLEY, Administrative Associate

MAURITA DOW-MASSEY, Project Assistant

DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant

LARA V. ADAMO, Project Assistant/Secretary (as of October 17, 1994)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES

THOMAS D. POLLARD (Chairman),

Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland

BRUCE N. AMES,

University of California, Berkeley, California

JOHN C. BAILAR III,

McGill University, Montreal, Canada

J. MICHAEL BISHOP,

University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, California

JOHN E. BURRIS,

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

MICHAEL T. CLEGG,

University of California, Riverside, California

GLENN A. CROSBY,

Washington State University, Pullman, Washington

MARIAN E. KOSHLAND,

University of California, Berkeley, California

RICHARD E. LENSKI,

Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

EMIL A. PFITZER,

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, New Jersey

MALCOLM C. PIKE,

University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

HENRY C. PITOT III,

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

JONATHAN M. SAMET,

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

HAROLD M. SCHMECK, JR.,

North Chatham, Massachusetts

CARLA J. SHATZ,

University of California, Berkeley, California

SUSAN S. TAYLOR,

University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

P. ROY VAGELOS,

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

JOHN L. VANDEBERG,

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, Texas

National Research Council Staff

PAUL GILMAN, Executive Director

ALVIN G. LAZEN, Associate Executive Director

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

Preface

AS PUBLIC CONCERN MOUNTS over past and current exposure to ionizing radiation stemming from environmental releases of radioactive materials, there is a growing need to define the criteria to be met by studies that reconstruct exposures and doses and to provide guidance in the studies' epidemiologic use. Absent this, dose reconstruction studies are not likely to stand serious scientific scrutiny or to meet public concerns. To assist the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the continuing dose reconstruction efforts at several U.S. nuclear facilities, the members of the National Research Council's Committee on an Assessment of CDC Radiation Studies and officers at the CDC believed it was timely to convene a group of scientists with experience and expertise relevant to the dozens of major dose reconstruction projects around the world that have followed radiation exposures of human populations. The scientists were asked to assist the committee in identifying criteria to be considered when undertaking radiation dose reconstruction studies, to examine the pitfalls encountered in previous studies, and to recommend areas of needed research. This report should set the objectives to be attained by such studies and provide guidelines for their conduct. It is aimed at providing generic information to scientists entering the field and to interested members of the public.

The National Research Council committee is indebted to the numerous scientists from around the world who agreed to participate in the Workshop on Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses, which was held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 25–27, 1993. The document that follows

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
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was synthesized by these scientists who, working with the committee, put into writing their thoughts and experiences. This final document was edited by the National Research Council committee and was subjected to the Research Council's rigorous and independent review process. It is important to emphasize that this version has not been reviewed by all of the participants and that it does not claim to represent a consensus of the workshop participants. The committee realizes that it would be impractical to achieve such extensive review and consensus, given the large number of participants. However, the committee believes this document captures the enthusiasm and conscientiousness displayed by the participants. It is a reasonably accurate record of their thoughts, it defines a valuable set of criteria, and it provides recommendations that will prove useful in future dose reconstruction studies in the United States and elsewhere.

We are deeply appreciative of the work of the staff of the Board on Radiation Effects Research, and particularly the assistance of Doris Taylor and Maurita Dow-Massey in the preparation of this report. We thank Mrs. Kate Kelly for her editorial review.

WILLIAM J. SCHULL

Chairman

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4760.
×

RADIATION DOSE RECONSTRUCTION for Epidemiologic Uses

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Growing public concern about releases of radiation into the environment has focused attention on the measurement of exposure of people living near nuclear weapons production facilities or in areas affected by accidental releases of radiation.

Radiation-Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses responds to the need for criteria for dose reconstruction studies, particularly if the doses are to be useful in epidemiology. This book provides specific and practical recommendations for whether, when, and how studies should be conducted, with an emphasis on public participation.

Based on the expertise of scientists involved in dozens of dose reconstruction projects, this volume:

  • Provides an overview of the basic requirements and technical aspects of dose reconstruction.
  • Presents lessons to be learned from dose reconstructions after Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and elsewhere.
  • Explores the potential benefits and limitations of biological markers.
  • Discusses how to establish the "source term"—that is, to determine what was released.
  • Explores methods for identifying the environmental pathways by which radiation reaches the body.
  • Offers details on three major categories of dose assessment.
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