Chernobyl Research and Service Project (CRSP)
Section 6022 of Senate Report 109-052 - "Emergency supplemental appropriations act for defense,
the global war on terror, and tsunami relief, and 2005," directed funding through the Department
of Energy (DOE) to initiate health effects research during construction of the new cover for the
Chernobyl [Chornobyl] Shelter Implementation Plan. This was a 1-year unfunded mandate issued as a
cooperative agreement with a consortium consisting of Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International,
Duke University Medical Center, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and Ukraine Research
Center for Radiation Medicine (RCRM). This consortium is known as International Consortium for Applied
Radiation Research (ICARR).
The project aims to study newly-hired workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
(ChNPP) in Ukraine. The workers are replacing the deteriorating concrete encasement
that surrounds ChNPP, which exploded on April 26, 1986. The stated objectives of this
project were to develop methods and to characterize how the human body responds to
low-level nuclear radiation. The study of these workers, who are exposed to gamma
and alpha radiation from external and internal sources (i.e., through inhalation and
skin absorption), will provide information applicable to planning a response to incidents
of radiation exposure that are by accident or intent. The first phase of the project
was to design an infrastructure appropriate for a robust scientific program. The stated
objectives were:
- Design and test questionnaires and forms to collect, over time, epidemiologic,
clinical, and dose data as part of a basic medical screening examination.
- Design a Web-based secure database system to allow storage, linkage, and analysis of
medical, biological, and exposure data.
- Design a research program and complete the first research study.
- Provide medical and health services to selected workers.
- Organize the management and governance of the CRSP consortium and develop a plan
for its continuation beyond the first year.
This project received a no-cost extension through September 30, 2008. An interim
report for the first 14 months of the project indicates that the infrastructure for
the project appears to have been successfully completed, which was the goal for the
first year. This includes:
- Formation of the Executive Committee (Execomm) of the CRSP Governing Board.
- Separate agreement with RCRM on data and split-sample biological specimen
sharing that permits RTI to ship samples to the United States, which is quite an
accomplishment.
- Creation of biodepositories in Ukraine and in the United States for storing
split samples.
- Three-way joint agreement among RTI, Science and Technology Center of Ukraine
(STCU), and RCRM to administer funding of the project, which ensures that STCU
independently verifies and approves all project expenses submitted by RCRM.
- Creation of a database management system with mirror sites in Ukraine and the
United States, although only a subset of medical data on pulmonology, neurology,
and hematology is used for this Health Information Exchange System, HIES LITE.
- Creation of a Web portal for CRSP.
- Formation of a Scientific Advisory Board for reviewing potential research projects.
- Development and use of an informed consent form acceptable to all parties.
- Enrollment and collection of blood of 155 workers by RCRM as of
November 29, 2007. These biological samples, along with initial clinical data on
each of the subjects, were transmitted from RCRM to RTI.
- Completion of one pilot study on gene expression analyses of the peripheral
blood of the cohort members. Preliminary results indicate that patterns of gene
expression may be used to distinguish subjects with a history of occupational
exposure to radiation. Further research is needed to validate these findings and
to develop a molecular signature of human radiation.
Further Information may be obtained by visiting the following website:
https://icarr.rti.org
Project Contacts:
RTI:
Mary-Anne Elizabeth Ardini-Poleske
Project Director
RTI International
Multisite Epidemiology and Statistics
P.O. Box 12194, Ragland 216
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Voice: (919) 541-6703
Fax: (919) 541-7250
Email: maa@rti.org
DOE:
Mohandas Bhat, DrPH
Sr. Science Advisor/
Chernobyl Program Manager
Office of International Health Studies, HS-14
U. S. Dept. of Energy
Office: (301) 903-1719
Fax: (301) 903-1413
Email: mohandas.bhat@hq.doe.gov
This page was last updated on March 14, 2008
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