Over the past several decades, public concern over exposure to ionizing radiation has increased. This concern has manifested itself in different ways depending on the perception of risk to different individuals and different groups and the circumstances of their exposure. One such group are those U.S. servicemen (the "Atomic Veterans" who participated in the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site or in the Pacific Proving Grounds, who served with occupation forces in or near Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or who were prisoners of war in or near those cities at the time of, or shortly after, the atomic bombings. This book addresses the feasibility of conducting an epidemiologic study to determine if there is an increased risk of adverse reproductive outcomes in the spouses, children, and grandchildren of the Atomic Veterans.

Table of Contents


FRONT MATTER
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BASIC EPIDEMIOLOGIC ISSUES
3. FEASIBILITY AND DESIGN OF AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY
4. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF RADIATION BIOLOGY
5. GENETIC PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES
6. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND ESTIMATION OF GENETIC RISK
7. ADVERSE REPRODUCTIVE OUTCOMES
8. FEASIBILITY OF THE STUDY OF ADVERSE REPRODUCTIVE OUTCOMES IN THE FAMILIES OF VETERANS EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION
9. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
10. CONCLUSIONS
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES