Russian Health Studies Program
Current Projects

How Many Projects Does DOE Sponsor Through This Program?

DOE currently sponsors 9 projects. Of these, five core projects focus on the epidemiology and dosimetry of the Techa River population and the Mayak workers:

• Project 1.2b: Techa River Population Epidemiology;
• Project 1.1: Techa River Population Dosimetry;
• Project 1.4: Ozersk Population Dose Reconstruction from Mayak Atmospheric Releases;
• Project 2.2: Mayak Worker Epidemiology; and
• Project 2.4: Mayak Worker Dosimetry.
  

Of note, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also provides funds in support of Project 1.1.

The other 4 projects are:

• Project 2.5: Improved Plutonium Dose Assessment Methods for Mayak Workers;
• Project 2.6: Molecular Markers of Lung Cancer in Mayak Workers;
• Project 2.7: Biomarkers of Radiation Exposure; and
• Project 2.8: Mayak Worker Tissue Repository.

Two studies completed in Fiscal Year 2005 focused on data preservation and retrieval:

• Project 1.2a: Physical preservation of data related to the Techa River population at URCRM; and
• Project 2.9: Database Integration.

A twelfth study, metabolism and dosimetry of plutonium industrial compounds (Project 2.1), was the first collaborative dosimetry project between the two countries.

A thirteenth study, deterministic effects in Mayak workers (Project 2.3), was sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It was designed to validate current dose-response models for acute exposure and develop new dose-response models for chronic internal and external exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the European Commission sponsor other studies in the Mayak workers and the Techa River population.

Contact Information:
Program Manager: Barrett N. Fountos, 301-903-6740

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