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- NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - US military leaders require more training regarding
the long-term health consequences of exposure to radiation, according to
a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
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- The authors of the report advise that
the US Army "enhance its training of military commanders in how to
consider long-term health effects when making operational decisions that
may result in the exposure of troops to radiation.''
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- The report follows a request from the
US Army Surgeon General that the IOM provide the Army with guidance on
issues surrounding troop radiation exposure. The IOM is a private, nonprofit
group providing health policy advice to the US government under a congressional
charter granted to the National Academy of Science.
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- In their report, IOM officials note that
commanders need to be able to weigh the risks and benefits of sending soldiers
into high-risk situations involving radiation threats. Soldiers need to
receive "general and mission-specific training'' about radiation risks,
according to the report authors, who also urge that the Department of Defense
establish an accurate means of measuring troop exposures to radiation.
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- All troops should also be outfitted with
individual radiation detection devices, and "information about the
amount of exposure received should be kept as part of all soldiers' permanent
records,'' the IOM advises.
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- "Radiation is not a new hazard for
military personnel,'' the authors point out. Many veterans who participated
in nuclear tests during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s have since sued the
US government, claiming that exposure to radiation during those tests resulted
in cancer later in their lives. Part of the problem in resolving those
claims has arisen from "inadequate exposure records,'' according to
the IOM team. They believe that better levels of recordkeeping might make
the resolution of future cases easier.
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- The panelists also point out that current
cancer screening techniques are not accurate enough to "actively test
individuals for the kinds of cancers that might be associated with radiation
exposure.'' However, should the accuracy of these tests improve, "such
testing may be useful in the future,'' they say.
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