Proposal for a longitudinal study to assess the hazards of radiation in space flight. Master's thesis

Technical Report · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:6386506

Reeves, G I

This thesis involves the establishment of a registry of all United States astronuats, past and future, plus non-astronaut controls. The registry will record the incidences of malignant neoplastic disease and diabetes mellitus, and the space radiation exposure received. Data will be carefully analyzed to see if there is a dose-related increase in these diseases related to the exposure to ionizing radiation, with an eventual goal of establishing reliable risk estimates related to dose received. The history of cancer related to radiation exposure is summarized, and the space radiation environment briefly described. Physiological changes accompanying space flight and their potential effects on radiation tolerance and carcinogenesis are discussed. The reasons why data from animal experiments and human occupational, medical, and nuclear-weapon exposure cannot be extrapolated to the long-term health risks of astronauts are discussed at length, and the study instruments for establishing a long-term descriptive surveillance study are described.

• Research Organization: Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6386506
• Report Number(s): AD-A-160801/7/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ASTRONAUTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
SPACE FLIGHT
RADIATION HAZARDS
CARCINOGENESIS
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
DIABETES MELLITUS
DISEASES
NEOPLASMS
RELIABILITY
SURVEILLANCE
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ENDOCRINE DISEASES
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
MANAGEMENT
METABOLIC DISEASES
PATHOGENESIS
PERSONNEL
RADIATION EFFECTS
560151* - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man