A registry for exposure and population health in the Altai region affected by fallout from the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site

Abstract

A registry of the rural population in the Altai region exposed to fallout from nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site (STS) was established more than four decades after the first Soviet nuclear explosion on August 29, 1949. Information about individuals living in an exposed and a control area was collected using all available local sources, such as kolkhoz documentation, school registries, medical treatment records and interviews with residents. As a result, a database comprising an exposed group of 39 179 individuals from 53 Altai region villages, 6769 external and 3303 internal controls was compiled. For several settlements, effective dose estimates reached the level of 1.5 Sv, while the average effective dose estimate in the exposed group was 340 mSv. Dosimetric data, vital status information and health records gathered at rayon and village medical facilities are held in the registry. Cause-of-death information for deceased residents is obtained from death registration forms archived at the Altai region vital statistics office. At present, a follow-up of approximately 40% of the population exposed in 1949 has been done. More will be added by searching for migrants to the larger towns of the Altai region, i.e. Barnaul, Rubtsovsk and Biisk. In order to assess the influence of radiation exposure, analytical studies with a case-control design for stomach and lung cancer are currently being prepared. The number of known cases is sufficient to detect an odds ratio of 1.5 at the 95% confidence level. Epidemiological studies in populations affected by fallout from STS may be equally important to the atomic bomb survivors' study for the direct quantification of radiation effects. The range of exposure rates experienced will extend the acute high-dose-rate findings from Hiroshima/Nagasaki towards acute and protracted lower exposures, which are more relevant for radiation protection issues.

Developing additional resources

“…The weather conditions in the region following the tests caused the transport of fission products towards Altai. High mortality rates from tumors, respiratory, infectious and parasitic diseases in this region were noted [7]. At the time of the atmospheric bomb test on August 29, 1949, about 250,000 people in the Altai area received doses that were estimated to range from 10 to 1,500 mSv.…”

Fallout from nuclear tests: health effects in the Altai region

“…For comparison reasons it includes also individuals living in unexposed areas and persons who migrated to the affected areas after the end of atmospheric bomb testing in 1963. The register has been described in detail elsewhere [4,5]. In this paper a short description will be given.…”

Semipalatinsk test site: Introduction

“…However, a huge project was eventually established by the Russian government entitled "The Semipalatinsk test site/Altai" aiming to provide medical care for the exposed population and to form the basis of a number of health effects studies. Part of that program was the establishment of cohorts in rural areas, for retrospective follow-up, based on a register [14]. A number of studies have been initiated some of which are described here [15].…”