Endemic encounter
exposure to nuclear tests conducted in the early '90s at the Nevada test site near Las Vegas may have caused 10,000 to 75,000 thyroid cancers among Americans, 70 per cent of which have not yet been detected, states a recently released report of the usa -based National Cancer Institute. "There were few, if any, Americans in the contiguous 48 states at the time that were not exposed to some level of fallout,' said Richard D Klausner, director of the institute.
People who were younger than five at the time of the blasts (which occurred in 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1957) are those who are most at risk of developing the cancer. According to the report, which was a revised draft of an earlier version, the average dose to all Americans from the blast was two rads to the thyroid (a rad is a measure of radiation absorbed by flesh and that amount is equal to the dose from five mammogrammes). Some children appear to have received close to 100 rads. The radiation has mainly occurred from iodine 131, a radioactive form of iodine that is part of bomb fallout. It is concentrated in the milk of cows and goats because they eat grass that has been contaminated with the chemical. Estimates of exposure are based on the pattern of grazing and milk distribution and consumption.
The study conducted by the institute was commissioned by the us Congress as far back as in 1982. The delay in the output of the study was explained away by the institute officials who said that they had to take into consideration the effect of each of the 90 blasts in 3,070 counties. However, the excuse has only served to irritate a vast section of the people. Said Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, who had a part of his thyroid removed several years ago, "I am quite upset that they had a draft of it (the report) three years ago, and it seemed like nothing was done. Three years can mean a lot in getting people monitored and taking action.' Harkin suggests that all Americans in their 40's or 50's should get their thyroids checked and that the government pay the cost for people without claiming health insurance from them.
The cancer institute has yet to commission a study on the anticipated effects of exposure. It, however, released a list of 24 counties in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota and Utah that had the biggest average exposures. Maps developed as part of the study show large doses to children in areas of the Midwest and Northeast states. The study concludes that children got three to seven times more exposure as they drank more milk than adults.
The institute will release a further 1,000 page
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