-Caveat Lector-
Higher cancer rates found for atomic test participants
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Associated Press
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
WASHINGTON (October 21, 1999 2:23 a.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Higher death rates for nasal and prostate
cancer among soldiers who took part in atomic tests in the years after
World War II were unexpected, according to a new study that also found
increases in leukemia.
The increased death rates for nasal and prostate cancer had not been
reported before, but the higher leukemia rates have been found in other
studies, according to the new analysis released Wednesday by the
National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine.
"Deaths from prostate cancer were 20 percent higher among test
participants than the comparison group, and even higher for nasal cancer,"
said Susan Thaul, who directed the study.
The report said that higher prostate cancer rates have not been
consistently seen in other studies of people exposed to radiation and "are
therefore difficult to interpret."
"The nasal cancer finding is even harder to interpret," Thaul said, "in part
because this is the first study of atomic test participants to look specifically
for that cause of death. To date, nasal cancer has not been among the
cancers considered to be caused by radiation."
"These leukemia findings do not resolve the debate over whether
participation is associated with leukemia mortality," she added.
"However, the set of leukemia findings is consistent with the results of other
studies of military participants in nuclear tests and is broadly consistent
with a hypothesis that these are radiation effects," Thaul said.
Comparing a group of servicemen who took part in the tests in Nevada and
the Pacific with similar service members who did not participate, the
analysis found no difference between the two groups in overall death rates
or in total deaths from cancer.
For leukemia, those taking part in the tests had a 14 percent higher death
rate than those in the comparison group, an increase that the report said is
small enough that it could be due to chance.
However, when the researchers broke down the service members into
regional groups they discovered that "land-based participants - those in the
Nevada desert - had a death rate from leukemia that was 50 percent higher
than military personnel in similar units who did not take part in atomic
tests."
On the other hand, sea-based test participants in the South Pacific did not
have a higher death rate from leukemia than servicemen who did not take
part in the tests.
Concern about higher cancer rates in nuclear test participants was first
voiced in 1976 when a veteran of a 1957 nuclear test in Nevada claimed
he developed leukemia as a result of his exposure to the radiation.
Overall, more than 200,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines
participated in atmospheric nuclear tests between World War II and the
early 1960s.
The new study looked into the causes and rates of death among the nearly
70,000 service members who participated in at least one of five groups of
atmospheric nuclear tests chosen for examination.
These servicemen were present at tests conducted in the Nevada desert or
in the South Pacific; some 30 percent have since died. The causes of
death were compared to a group of nearly 65,000 military personnel
serving at the same time but not involved in the tests.
They did not examine differences in nonfatal disease or injury.
The study was funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the
Department of Defense.
The Institute of Medicine is part of the National Academy of Sciences, a
private organization chartered by Congress to advise the government of
scientific matters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Wingate
California Director
SKYWATCH INTERNATIONAL
Anomalous Images and UFO Files
http://www.anomalous-images.com
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