Nasal Radium--recent article

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Veterans who received nasal radium could have higher cancer risk 

By MELISSA B. ROBINSON 

WASHINGTON (July 27, 1999 11:25 p.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Navy submariners treated with
nasal radium in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s may have a
higher cancer risk than veterans who did not get the
treatment, a study by the Department of Veterans
Affairs has revealed. 

The study represents one of the strongest
acknowledgments by the U.S. government to date that
nasal radium, which was administered to as many as 2
million civilians as well as thousands of people in the
military, could pose health risks. 

Nasal radium was given mostly to military submariners,
divers and pilots who were troubled by atmospheric
pressure changes and to children who suffered from
colds, tonsillitis, ear infections and sinus or adenoid
problems. 

The VA study found a 47 percent increased risk of
deaths from head and neck cancers in submariners who
were treated with radium, compared with those who
were not treated. 

There was also a higher, overall death rate. 

The study, released Tuesday by Sen. Joseph Lieberman,
D-Conn., compared deaths among 1,214 submariners
who had the treatment with deaths among a control
group of 3,176 randomly selected veterans who were
not treated. 

The treated veterans were identified from a log kept at
the U.S. naval base in Groton, Conn., where
submariners are trained. Many received the treatment
there to help them cope with drastic changes in
pressure from being submerged underwater. 

The VA said the findings were not statistically
significant due the relatively small number of deaths:
307 in the treated group vs. 605 in the untreated group.

Even so, "this finding does suggest that WWII veterans
who received (nasal) irradiation while in submarine
school may be at increased risk for deaths due to head
and neck cancers," it found. 

The study, which only dealt with submariners, is the
only one to date on veterans. Other studies have found
increased incidence of cancer in treated children. 

Nasal applicators containing 50 milligrams of radium
were typically used to shrink tissues at the entrance of
the Eustachian tubes. Those tubes help drain and
balance pressure on the inner and outer ear. 

A typical regimen involved three to four treatments, of
six to 12 minutes each, a few weeks apart. 

Years later, radium patients have complained of tumors,
thyroid and immune disorders, brittle teeth and
reproductive problems. 

Radium treatments were gradually abandoned with the
development of antibiotics, the use of pressurized
aircraft cabins in the military and increasing questions
about radiation's health effects. 

The VA is conducting a follow-up study on the health of
living veterans who had radium treatments. That is due
sometime early next year. 

Under a law passed by Congress in 1998, the
department is also offering free medical examinations
and treatment to veterans who have head or neck
cancer and were treated with radium. 
-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 South Illinois Avenue, Suite 208
Oak Ridge, Tennessee  37830
Phone (423) 483-1333; Fax (423) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net
VISIT OUR UPDATED WEB SITE:  http://www.local-oversight.org
==================================================
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