Epidemiologic Studies of Veterans Exposed to Depleted Uranium
Epidemiologic Studies of Veterans Exposed to Depleted Uranium

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-09-11

Total Pages: 58

ISBN-13: 0309178568

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Depleted uranium, a component of some weapons systems, has been in use by the U.S. military since the 1991 Gulf War. Military personnel have been exposed to depleted uranium as the result of friendly fire incidents, cleanup and salvage operations, and proximity to burning depleted uranium-containing tanks and ammunition. Under a Congressional mandate, the Department of Defense sought guidance from the Institute of Medicine in evaluating the feasibility and design of an epidemiologic study that would assess health outcomes of exposure to depleted uranium. The study committee examined several options to study health outcomes of depleted uranium exposure in military and veteran populations and concluded that it would be difficult to design a study to comprehensively assess depleted uranium-related health outcomes with currently available data. The committee further concluded that the option most likely to obtain useful information about depleted uranium-related health outcomes would be a prospective cohort study if future military operations involve exposure to depleted uranium. The book contains recommendations aimed at improving future epidemiologic studies and identifying current active-duty military personnel and veterans with potential DU exposure.

Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry
Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-28

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 0309451175

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Military operations produce a great deal of trash in an environment where standard waste management practices may be subordinated to more pressing concerns. As a result, ground forces have long relied on incineration in open-air pits as a means of getting rid of refuse. Concerns over possible adverse effects of exposure to smoke from trash burning in the theater were first expressed in the wake of the 1990â€"1991 Gulf War and stimulated a series of studies that indicated that exposures to smoke from oil-well fires and from other combustion sources, including waste burning, were stressors for troops. In January 2013, Congress directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and maintain a registry for service members who may have been exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes generated by open burn pits. Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry analyzes the initial months of data collected by the registry and offers recommendations on ways to improve the instrument and best use the information it collects. This report assesses the effectiveness of the VA's information gathering efforts and provides recommendations for addressing the future medical needs of the affected groups, and provides recommendations on collecting, maintaining, and monitoring information collected by the VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry.

Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan
Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-10-31

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 030921758X

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Many veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have health problems they believe are related to their exposure to the smoke from the burning of waste in open-air "burn pits" on military bases. Particular controversy surrounds the burn pit used to dispose of solid waste at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, which burned up to 200 tons of waste per day in 2007. The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the IOM to form a committee to determine the long-term health effects from exposure to these burn pits. Insufficient evidence prevented the IOM committee from developing firm conclusions. This report, therefore, recommends that, along with more efficient data-gathering methods, a study be conducted that would evaluate the health status of service members from their time of deployment over many years to determine their incidence of chronic diseases.

Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations
Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2020-10-23

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 0309679109

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More than 3.7 million U.S. service members have participated in operations taking place in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations since 1990. These operations include the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, a post-war stabilization period spanning 1992 through September 2001, and the campaigns undertaken in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Deployment to Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan exposed service members to a number of airborne hazards, including oil-well fire smoke, emissions from open burn pits, dust and sand suspended in the air, and exhaust from diesel vehicles. The effects of these were compounded by stressors like excessive heat and noise that are inevitable attributes of service in a combat environment. Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations reviews the scientific evidence regarding respiratory health outcomes in veterans of the Southwest Asia conflicts and identifies research that could feasibly be conducted to address outstanding questions and generate answers, newly emerging technologies that could aid in these efforts, and organizations that the Veterans Administration might partner with to accomplish this work.

Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 2016 Report
Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 2016 Report

Author: United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)

Publisher: United Nations

Published: 2017-04-25

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 9210600029

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This report assesses the levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Scientific findings underpin radiation risk evaluation and international protection standards. This report comprises a report with two underpinning scientific annexes. The first annex recapitulates and clarifies the philosophy of science as well as the scientific knowledge for attributing observed health effects in individuals and populations to radiation exposure, and distinguishes between that and inferring risk to individuals and populations from an exposure. The second annex reviews the latest thinking and approaches to quantifying the uncertainties in assessments of risk from radiation exposure, and illustrates these approaches with application to examples that are highly pertinent to radiation protection.

Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk
Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk

Author: Suzanne H. Reuben

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1437934218

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Though overall cancer incidence and mortality have continued to decline in recent years, cancer continues to devastate the lives of far too many Americans. In 2009 alone, 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer. The Pres. Cancer Panel dedicated its 2008¿2009 activities to examining the impact of environmental factors on cancer risk. The Panel considered industrial, occupational, and agricultural exposures as well as exposures related to medical practice, military activities, modern lifestyles, and natural sources. This report presents the Panel¿s recommend. to mitigate or eliminate these barriers. Illus.

Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities
Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-06-29

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 0309255716

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In the late 1980s, the National Cancer Institute initiated an investigation of cancer risks in populations near 52 commercial nuclear power plants and 10 Department of Energy nuclear facilities (including research and nuclear weapons production facilities and one reprocessing plant) in the United States. The results of the NCI investigation were used a primary resource for communicating with the public about the cancer risks near the nuclear facilities. However, this study is now over 20 years old. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested that the National Academy of Sciences provide an updated assessment of cancer risks in populations near USNRC-licensed nuclear facilities that utilize or process uranium for the production of electricity. Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1 focuses on identifying scientifically sound approaches for carrying out an assessment of cancer risks associated with living near a nuclear facility, judgments about the strengths and weaknesses of various statistical power, ability to assess potential confounding factors, possible biases, and required effort. The results from this Phase 1 study will be used to inform the design of cancer risk assessment, which will be carried out in Phase 2. This report is beneficial for the general public, communities near nuclear facilities, stakeholders, healthcare providers, policy makers, state and local officials, community leaders, and the media.

Gulf War and Health
Gulf War and Health

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-12-10

Total Pages: 617

ISBN-13: 0309168414

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Gulf War and Health, Volume 2, is the second in a series of congressionally-mandated studies by the Institute of Medicine that provides a comprehensive assessment of the available scientific literature on potential health effects of exposure to certain biological, chemical, and environmental agents associated with the Gulf War. In this second study, the committee evaluated the published, peer-reviewed literature on exposure to insecticides and solvents thought to have been present during the 1990-1991 war. Because little information exists on actual exposure levels â€" a critical factor when assessing health effects â€" the committee could not draw specific conclusions about the health problems of Gulf War veterans. However, the study found some evidence, although usually limited, to link specific long-term health outcomes with exposure to certain insecticides and solvents. The next phase of the series will examine the literature on potential health effects associated with exposure to selected environmental pollutants and particulates, such as oil-well fires and jet fuels.

The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions
The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9780854035540

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"The first of two reports that the Royal Society has published examining the health effects of depleted uranium munitions ... Due to the lack of experimental data, the approach taken was to estimate the typical levels of exposure on the battlefield over a wide range of scenarios, and the 'worst-case' exposures that individuals are unlikely to exceed. These estimated values have then been used to assess the potential health risks from radiation. The report also considers epidemiological studies of occupational exposures to uranium in other situations as an independent source of information on the risks of inhaling DU particles, although it recognises that the parallels may not be precise. Part II deals with the risks from the chemical toxicity of uranium, non-malignant radiation effects from DU intakes, the long-term environmental consequences of the deployment of DU munitions and responses to Part I."--Web site.