ALPHA-RISK-Quantification of cancer and non-cancer risks associated with multiple chronic radiation exposures: epidemiological studies, organ dose calculation and risk assessment

Duration

2005-2009

Coordinator

IRSN, France

Funded by

European Comission

Radiation protection guidelines are mainly based on studies of populations exposed to external radiation. This project regroups major European studies able to evaluate long-term health effects after internal exposure to radionuclides (radon, uranium, plutonium). Large cohort and case-control studies aim to quantify the effect of multiple exposures, taking into account specific organ dose calculation, the contribution of each radionuclides and external exposure.

All selected studies are characterized by precise registration of individual annual exposure:



German, French and Czech Uranium miner cohorts, implemented during a FP5 project will inform on quantification of risk for various cancers (lung, kidney, leukaemia) and non-cancer in relation to calculated organ dose by producing recent data, but also including dust and gamma exposure.

European case-control studies on lung cancer and domestic radon gives the opportunity to compare these risk estimates with those from worker studies and to calculate attributable risk for low protracted exposures to alpha particles and interactions with tobacco.

Specific studies of nuclear workers in which doses due to internal contaminations will be reconstructed individually, especially in the UK, France and Belgium.



This project will provide integrated results regarding effects of chronic internal radiation exposures, complementarily to other ongoing work, mainly on Mayak.

CREAL is part of the Steering Committee of Alpha-Risk is leads WP3, coordinating two case-control studies – one of lung cancer and the other of leukaemia risk, in relation to exposure to Plutonium and Uranium. The studies are nested within relevant cohorts of nuclear industry workers in Belgium, France and the UK. Individual dose estimates have been derived using a common methodology in all centers and related uncertainties are being estimated. Analyses of the results are underway.