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MILITARY UNIT AND HERBICIDE SPRAYING DATABASES, AND EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT MODEL DEVELOPMENT 11 As it became apparent that some tasks were larger and more time-consuming than originally thought or it became obvious that some records or databases could not be used for the intended purposes of the research, the proposed projects were modified, augmented, or partly abandoned. This report chronicles some of the activities undertaken by the Columbia University researchers as they met the various challenges posed by the study and in response to continuing communication with the IOM committee. PROJECT 1: MILITARY UNIT AND HERBICIDE SPRAYING DATABASES, AND EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT MODEL DEVELOPMENT The goal of Project 1âthe primary task in the research effortâwas to construct a transportable system for evaluating herbicide exposure of veterans who served in Vietnam. The purpose of the system was to provide data for use in epidemiologic studies. The Columbia University researchers outlined the following specific aims in their proposal: 1. Identify and fill in remaining gaps in the Military Unit Database-Vietnam (MUD-V) by retrieving, evaluating, and abstracting primary source materials. 2. Develop additional mathematical models for use as exposure opportunity indices (EOIs). 3. Carry out sensitivity analyses of models to characterize the robustness of exposure indices to inaccuracies in the locations of the troops. 4. Where inaccuracies or inconsistencies are found, attempt to obtain and incorporate additional or alternative troop-location data from primary sources. 5. Create a final database of troop locations that contains alternative exposure estimates from a variety of models and their reliabilities.
