National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. The Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Genetic Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1800.
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THE CHILDREN OF ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS

A Genetic Study

edited by James V.Neel and William J.Schull

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1991

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. The Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Genetic Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1800.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC20418

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 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. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

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 of 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 adminstered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M.White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data

The children of atomic bomb survivors : a genetic study/edited by James V.Neel and William J.Schull.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-309-04488-X (hard); ISBN 0-309-04537-1 (soft)

1. Children of atomic bomb victims—Health and hygiene—Japan— Hiroshima-shi. 2. Children of atomic bomb victims—Health and hygiene—Japan—Nagasaki-shi. 3. Radiation—Toxicology. 4. Genetic toxicology. I. Neel, James V. (James Van Gundia), 1915–. II. Schull, William J.

RA648.3.C49 1991 91–10042

614.5'909–dc20 CIP

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. The Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Genetic Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1800.
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Preface

The National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, in concert with the appropriate Japanese agencies, has been engaged for some 45 years in an attempt to understand the late health effects on the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the outset of this long-term study, one of the major questions demanding consideration has been the possible genetic effects of this exposure. This issue became the first of many to be addressed on a comprehensive scale in the follow-up studies. Planning for the genetic program began in 1946, and data collection has been continuous since 1948. Over the years, the effort has been funded by the United States Atomic Energy Commission, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the Department of Energy, and the Japanese Minstry of Health and Welfare.

For this book, Drs. Neel and Schull have selected for reprinting 13 publications which express their scientific views and those of their Japanese colleagues. Their purpose is to disseminate the results obtained in the genetic study, and they have added an analytical introduction and epilogue. This collection of reprints from scientific journals, and the authors' analysis of the possible course of future studies, should be of great interest to the scientific community and, ultimately, to a concerned public.

The NAS-NRC takes great pride in its involvement in this unique, long-term research program. The data obtained in the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission-Radiation Effects Research Foundation (ABCC-RERF) studies, which are available to scientists throughout the world, have provided the basis for estimating genetic, as well as carcinogenic, risks resulting from radiation exposure. They have also been of international importance in the establishment of standards for protection of people in the work place and the general public.

FRANK PRESS

President

National Academy of Sciences

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. The Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Genetic Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1800.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1991. The Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Genetic Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1800.
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Do persons exposed to radiation suffer genetic effects that threaten their yet-to-be-born children? Researchers are concluding that the genetic risks of radiation are less than previously thought.

This finding is explored in this volume about the children of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the population that can provide the greatest insight into this critical issue. Assembled here for the first time are papers representing more than 40 years of research. These documents reveal key results related to radiation's effects on pregnancy termination, sex ratio, congenital defects, and early mortality of children. Edited by two of the principal architects of the studies, J. V. Neel and W. J. Schull, the volume also offers an important comparison with studies of the genetic effects of radiation on mice.

The wealth of technical details will be immediately useful to geneticists and other specialists. Policymakers will be interested in the overall conclusions and discussion of future studies.

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