Powernet: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

["MIKE RUSSELL"<russelmj@songs.sce.com>]

United States Commercial Nuclear Power Reactor Participation in the Ongoing 
Cancer Mortality Study Conducted by the International Agency for Research 
on Cancer (IARC)

                                        January 20, 2000
Dear Colleague,

A substantial segment of the United States commercial nuclear power industry 
has agreed to participate in an ongoing international epidemiological study 
on radiation and cancer mortality in nuclear workers. The primary purpose 
for industry participation in the study is to better understand the risks 
associated with occupational exposure to ionizing radiation at commercial 
nuclear power plants. U.S. commercial participation in the ongoing study 
will involve 15 nuclear utilities, 55 reactors, and include data on an 
estimated 70,000 radiation workers.

The ongoing study is a combined mortality study of nuclear workers in 
seventeen countries (the International Collaborative Study of Cancer Risk 
Among Radiation Workers in the Nuclear Industry) being conducted by the 
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research agency of 
the World Health Organization. The study was begun in 1993, with completion 
scheduled for 2001 and issuance of a report by IARC targeted for 2001. 

The International Collaborative Study, headed by IARC's Dr. Elisabeth 
Cardis, includes over 500,000 radiation workers worldwide, in addition to 
the U.S. commercial cohort. The IARC study is designed as a retrospective 
pooled cancer mortality study. IARC has stated that the primary objective 
of the international study is to better estimate the radiation-related risk 
of cancer and leukemia mortality following low-dose protracted exposures. 
Specifically, the IARC study is intended to provide data on low dose 
chronic exposures for comparison with the risk estimates derived from 
studies of persons having received acute high dose exposures. These data, 
in turn, are intended to provide a test of the extrapolation models 
currently used by various scientific bodies and government agencies for 
estimating radiation risks and for setting radiation protection standards.

The inclusion of the U.S. commercial worker data in the IARC study is being 
directed by Dr. Geoffrey R. Howe, a distinguished epidemiologist and Gelman 
Professor of Public Health at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Howe has 
conducted many national and international studies of radiation and cancer 
including previous studies of radiation workers. Battelle Pacific Northwest 
National Laboratory, along with other Battelle research centers will 
assemble dosimetry and demographic data under the guidance of Dr. Howe. The 
Battelle team Project Manager is Jack Fix, CHP. The utility-provided data 
will undergo analysis and quality assurance by Dr. Howe, the Battelle team 
as well as the IARC investigators. The utilities will have no control over 
the data, analyses, or the independent report that is issued by IARC. 
The cost of providing the data on U.S. commercial nuclear workers to the 
IARC study will be borne by the participating utilities. The co-ordination 
of the International Collaborative Study is supported by the European 
Commission and by several organizations in participating countries; the 
cost of the national study in each country is covered by national funding 
bodies, participating facilities and a number of national and public 
institutions.  

Dr. Howe, Battelle, and all utility participants are committed to 
collecting and maintaining the data in a manner designed to ensure 
confidentiality. In addition, although the participating utilities are 
providing worker information to the independent scientific group for use 
with the National Death Index, no such correlated information will be 
returned to the participating utilities. The participating utilities are 
informing their workers about the study, including issues of 
confidentiality and privacy.

Inquiries regarding the study may be directed to the following individuals 
for the respective areas of interest.


Independent Scientific Study Group

Geoffrey R. Howe, PhD    Overall Study and Epidemiology 212.305.4601 
Jack Fix, CHP            Dosimetry                          509.375.2512

Study Project Manager
Roger P. Shaw, CHP       Administrative                     973.622.4444

Chairman, Utility Steering Committee
Michael J. Slobodien, CHP     Administrative                609.971.4709

Please feel free to call upon us should you desire any additional 
information.

Respectfully,

/s/

Roger P. Shaw 
Study Project Manager
(973) 622-4444

iarc.