Cohort study of thyroid disease near the Nevada Test Site: A preliminary report

Journal Article · Thu Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Health Physics; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199011000-00021· OSTI ID:6141568

Rallison, M L; Lotz, T M; Bishop, M; Divine, W; Haywood, K; Lyon, J L; Stevens, W ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City (USA)

The atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada beginning in 1951 resulted in exposure of regions surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to fallout. A cohort of children born between 1947 and 1954 in two counties near the NTS, one in Utah and one in Nevada (UT/NV), were examined in 1965-1968 for thyroid abnormalities that might have been a result of exposure to radioiodine in fallout. The prevalence of thyroid abnormalities in these children (11-18 y) was compared to that in a control group selected from a county in Arizona (AZ) that was presumed to have received little or no fallout from the NTS. Thyroid nodules were found in 76 of the 4,819 children examined (15.8/1000). Of the 76 thyroid nodules, 22 were diagnosed as neoplasms. The rate of thyroid neoplasms among the UT/NV subjects was higher (5.6/1000) than among the AZ subjects (3.3/1000) (RR = 1.7), but because the number of neoplasms was small, the difference was statistically insignificant. In 1985-1986, 3,122 of the original study subjects were reexamined. In this reexamination, thyroid nodules were found in 125 individuals (44.2/1000). Of the 125 thyroid nodules detected during this later study period, 65 were considered to be thyroid neoplasms. Rates of thyroid neoplasms in UT/NV (24.6/1000) are again slightly higher than in AZ (20.2/1000) (RR = 1.2), but the difference is not significant (p = 0.65). Based on the rates of thyroid neoplasms in the two geographic locations, we conclude that living near the NTS in the 1950s has not resulted in a statistically significant increase of thyroid neoplasms in subjects from UT/NV when compared with subjects of the same age and gender living in AZ.

• OSTI ID: 6141568
• Journal Information: Health Physics; (USA), Journal Name: Health Physics; (USA) Vol. 59:5; ISSN 0017-9078; ISSN HLTPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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560161* -- Radionuclide Effects
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AGE GROUPS
ARIZONA
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BODY
CHILDREN
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ENDOCRINE GLANDS
FALLOUT
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NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEOPLASMS
NEVADA TEST SITE
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RADIOINDUCTION
THYROID
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA