Early Mortality Rate of Atomic Bomb Survivors Based on House Reconstruction Survey

Abstract

This paper studies the mortality rate experienced by over 23,000 A-bomb survivors in Nagasaki between September 1945 and 1950 when the RERF-ABCC initiated the follow-up of the large LSS cohort. The study is based on the data of the 10-year House Reconstruction Survey. As expected, these data show an increasing mortality rate with increasing proximity to the hypocenter of the bomb. What was not anticipated was a higher mortality rate in the 1400-1699 m band than in the closer distance interval of 1200-1399 m. This suggests a possible selective survival among A-bomb survivors. Whether this affects the cancer risk estimates has not as yet been determined.