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Federal Agency Completes Study of Radiation at Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 January 2005, 12:00 CST

Jan. 17--A federal agency has completed data collection and analysis in a study of the rates of heart and autoimmune disease in children who were exposed to radiation that drifted off the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The study is being reviewed and still must be approved for public release. No release date has yet been set.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, or ATSDR, started the study in early 2003 in response to a request by a citizens advisory group to the federal government.

In 1986, the federal government released thousands of documents that showed Hanford had emitted radioactive particles during World War II and the Cold War. The nuclear reservation made plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.

Since 1986, public meetings about possible health effects of the radiation releases have drawn large crowds of people asking if all sorts of health conditions might be linked to radiation exposure from living near or downwind of Hanford.

The health problem that doctors thought most likely to be linked to Hanford -- thyroid disease -- was the subject of a study by the Centers for Disease Control that cost more than $20 million. However, it did not find evidence that greater doses of radioactive iodine was linked to increased incidence of thyroid disease.

But the Hanford Health Effects Subcommittee, which is no longer funded by the federal government, said those who lived downwind of the nuclear reservation feared they were experiencing other health problems because of exposure to radiation.

ATSDR, which is an agency of CDC, picked heart disease to study because it frequently came up as a concern of those who lived downwind of Hanford during its production years. Little, if any, scientific evidence exists to show heart disease may be linked to radiation exposure.

Autoimmune disease also was picked from a long list of concerns raised by residents. Limited studies may show a link between autoimmune disease and radiation, Caroline Cusack, the ATSDR epidemiologist leading the study, said when it was launched in 2003.

Autoimmune illnesses occur when body tissues are attacked by the body's own immune system. They include lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers randomly selected 4,500 people born between 1945 and 1951 for the study. Some were from Benton, Franklin and Adams counties, all near Hanford. Others were selected from Mason, San Juan and Whatcom counties to serve as a control group.

Researchers were not able to locate as many people as they had hoped, Cusack said last week. But enough were found to complete the study.

Researchers interviewed 1,280 people. They could not find 2,500 of the people selected. Others had died or refused to participate. Only people who had lived for at least a year in the selected counties were included in the study.

Participants were interviewed by phone about their health and general background. Those who had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder or indications of cardiovascular disease, such as a stroke or high blood pressure, were sent a form so researchers could confirm the information with the participant's doctor.

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(c) 2005, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Tri-City Herald

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