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
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
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)
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
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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
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