Completed Projects in the Russian Health Studies Program

Completed Direction 1 Population Studies Under the JCCRER

Project 1.2a: Data Preservation and Scanning

Principal Investigators:

R.F.: Nikolai Startsev, Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine
U.S.: Donna Cragle, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

Description: This was a data preservation/records management project focused on establishing a document imaging system at URCRM for preserving valuable medical records of residents of the Southern Urals region exposed to radiation due to the operations at Mayak and environmental releases from there. These documents contain information from 1951 to the present with details on medical examinations, individual dose measurements, addresses, causes of death, and other data necessary for epidemiologic studies and dose reconstruction.

Results: Computer scanning equipment was installed. Scanning, verification, indexing, and creation of a computer database of the scanned documents were completed.

Date completed: September 2005.

Project 2.1: Metabolism and Dosimetry of Plutonium Industrial Compounds

Principal Investigators:

R.F.: Valentin Khokhryakov, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute
U.S.: Ronald E. Filipy, Washington State University Tri-Cities

Brief Description: This project was the first collaborative dosimetric project between scientists of the two countries. The project began as a one-year feasibility study to compare the two autopsy programs and progressed to a five-year project with the objective of combining and jointly analyzing the actinide metabolism data collected by the two registries: the Dosimetric Registry of the Mayak Production Association (DRMPA) and the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR). The first priority task of the feasibility study involved a series of sample exchanges to verify that no systematic differences were present in the analytical results obtained by both Registries. The results of the laboratory intercomparisons led to the conclusion that the data accumulated by both registries are reliable, correct, and can be used in joint investigations of actinide metabolism in humans. The primary objective of Phase 2 of Project 2.1 was to combine the data accumulated by both registries, create a joint database, and perform a mutual analysis of the unique information regarding the metabolism and dosimetry of plutonium and americium in the human body.

Results to date: High priority tasks involving the metabolism study and biokinetic modeling were begun during the project. The first important dosimetric finding was made regarding the systemic distribution of plutonium and 241-Am in humans: liver diseases were shown to affect the distribution of plutonium in the body, suggesting a translocation of the actinides from the liver to the skeleton. A comparative analysis of the SUBI lung model used at Mayak for dose assessment with the ICRP 66 model showed an advantage of the SUBI dosimetric lung model after long periods (10 and more years) of inhalation. The SUBI laboratory has since obtained modern instrumentation and reagents and updated radiochemical methods. The whole body counter from the Rocky Flats Plant became operational for measurements of actinides body burden in the Mayak workers.

Date completed: March 2000

Principal Investigators:

R.F.: Nadezda Okladnikova, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute
U.S.: Niel Wald, University of Pittsburgh

Brief Description: The main aim of this project was to validate the current dose-response models for acute exposure and develop new dose-response models for chronic exposure to external gamma rays and/or incorporated Pu-239.

Results to date: The study resulted in the development and establishment of the clinical-dosimetry database for 591 Mayak workers. This database included demographic, medical, and dosimetry information for 60 cases of acute radiation syndrome (ARS), 207 cases of chronic radiation sickness (CRS), 121 cases of plutonium pneumosclerosis, and 209 workers, who were not diagnosed with an occupational disease (control group). The procedure of performing quality control of the database was developed and carried out to compare the completeness and correspondence of the primary data with the information contained in the database. A code book containing the guidance for coding the primary data was prepared. A library, including "clear" standard data sets, was created. A data access agreement was developed. The database includes data for more than 17,500 person-years of follow-up and consists of more than 3.5 million individual data points. Vital status is known for 90.4% of the workers. Individually measured external gamma doses are available for 93.7% of the workers, and doses of internal exposure are available for 32.5% of the workers who were exposed to Pu-239 aerosols.

For more details, please refer to the following publications in English:

1. Claycamp HG, Sussman NB, Okladnikova ND, Azizova TV, Pesternikova VS, Sumina MV, Teplyakov II. Classification of Chronic radiation sickness cases using neural networks and classification trees. Health Phys. 2001 Nov; 81(5): 522-529
2. Claycamp HG, Sussman NB, Okladnikova ND, Azizova TV, Pesternikova VS, Sumina MV, Teplyakov II. Classification of Chronic radiation sickness cases using neural networks and classification trees. Health Phys. 2001 Nov; 81(5): 522-529
3. Scott BR, Lyzlov AF, Osovets SV. Evaluating the risk of death via the hematopoietic syndrome mode for prolonged exposure of nuclear workers to radiation delivered at very low rates. Health Phys. 1998 May; 74(5): 545-53
4. Okladnikova ND, Pesternikova VS, Sumina MV, Doshchenko VN. Occupational diseases from radiation exposure at the first nuclear plant in the USSR. Sci Total Environ. 1994 Mar 1; 142(1-2): 9-17
5. Okladnikova ND, Claycamp HG, Azizova TV, Belyaeva ZD, Pesternikova VS, Scott BR, Sumina MV, Teplyakov II, Boecker BB, Vasilenko EK, Khokhryakov VF, Fevralyov AN, Schekhter-Levin S, Wald N. Deterministic effects of occupational radiation exposures in some workers of the first atomic plant. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety, 2001; 46(6): 84-93

Principal Investigators:

R.F.: Sergey Romanov, Southern Urals Biophysics Institute and Evgeny Vasilenko, Mayak
U.S.: Eric Grant, Radiation Effects Research Foundation

Brief Description: The fundamental goal of this project was to improve the quality and accessibility of the data needed for studies of radiation health effects and dosimetry in Mayak workers and the Ozersk population carried out by SUBI researchers and their collaborators. This project was developed to combine databases located in four different laboratories of two Russian organizations so as to facilitate researcher access to data. Much of this work has been accomplished through the creation of a unified relational database that serves as the source of primary data required for the radiation effects research studies along with the development of easy-to-use tools for accessing these data in formats needed by researchers. Efforts included:

• The continued development of the data access tools with particular emphasis on implementing requested features based on user feedback;
• Incorporation of additional data that has been identified for inclusion into the unified database;
• Development of quality assurance and quality control procedures for data contained in the unified database; and
• Technical support and administration of the existing database.

Date completed: September 2005.

Under this direction, a United States-Russian Federation Workshop on Responses to Radiation Accidents was conducted in November 1996. Additionally, Dr. Vince McClelland of DOE's Office of Nonproliferation and National Security is leading new United States-Russian Joint efforts in Emergency Response.

Brief Description: The objective of Direction 3 is to identify further areas of collaborative research in the fields of accident consequence management and to facilitate joint exercises.

 

Russian Health Studies Program

Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation Effects Research