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Dosimetry and uncertainty approaches for the million person study of low-dose radiation health effects: overview of the recommendations in NCRP Report No. 178

Journal Article · · International Journal of Radiation Biology
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [6];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [15];  [16];  [17];  [18]
  1. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States)
  2. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (United States)
  3. M.H. Chew and Associates, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Inc., Bethesda, MD (United States); Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN (United States)
  5. US Department of Energy (USDOE), New York, NY (United States)
  6. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  7. Oak Ridge Associated Univ., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  8. International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD (United States)
  9. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
  10. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  11. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Inc., Bethesda, MD (United States)
  12. International Commission on Radiation Units, Bethesda, MD (United States)
  13. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, USA
  14. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  15. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Arlington, TX (United States)
  16. Risk Assessment Corporation, Neeses, SC (United States)
  17. Landauer, Inc, Glenwood, IL (United States)
  18. Leidos Innovations Corporation, Houston, TX (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Purpose: Scientific Committee 6–9 was established by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), charged to provide guidance in the derivation of organ doses and their uncertainty, and produced a report, NCRP Report No. 178, Deriving Organ Doses and their Uncertainty for Epidemiologic Studies with a focus on the Million Person Study of Low-Dose Radiation Health Effects (MPS). This review summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of NCRP Report No. 178, with a concentration on and overview of the dosimetry and uncertainty approaches for the cohorts in the MPS, along with guidelines regarding the essential approaches used to estimate organ doses and their uncertainties (from external and internal sources) within the framework of an epidemiologic study. Conclusions: The success of the MPS is tied to the validity of the dose reconstruction approaches to provide realistic estimates of organ-specific radiation absorbed doses that are as accurate and precise as possible and to properly evaluate their accompanying uncertainties. Further, the dosimetry aspects for the MPS are challenging in that they address diverse exposure scenarios for diverse occupational groups being studied over a period of up to 70 y. Specific dosimetric reconstruction issues differ among the varied exposed populations that are considered: atomic veterans, U.S. Department of Energy workers exposed to both penetrating radiation and intakes of radionuclides, nuclear power plant workers, medical radiation workers, and industrial radiographers. While a major source of radiation exposure to the study population comes from external gamma- or x-ray sources, for some of the study groups, there is also a meaningful component of radionuclide intakes that requires internal radiation dosimetry assessments.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); USDOE; USEPA; USNRC
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AU0000042; SC0008944
OSTI ID:
1960702
Journal Information:
International Journal of Radiation Biology, Journal Name: International Journal of Radiation Biology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 98; ISSN 0955-3002
Publisher:
Taylor and FrancisCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
NCRP
dosimetry
epidemiology
radiation