Overview
"The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was set up by Congress in 1990 to compensate people who have been diagnosed with specified cancers and chronic diseases that could have resulted from exposure to nuclear-weapons tests at various U.S. test sites. Eligible claimants include civilian onsite participants, downwinders who lived in areas currently designated by RECA, and uranium workers and ore transporters who meet specified residence or exposure criteria. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which oversees the screening, education, and referral services program for RECA populations, asked the National Academies to review its program and assess whether new scientific information could be used to improve its program and determine if additional populations or geographic areas should be covered under RECA. The report recommends Congress should establish a new science-based process using a method called ""probability of causation/assigned share"" (PC/AS) to determine eligibility for compensation. Because fallout may have been higher for people outside RECA-designated areas, the new PC/AS process should apply to all residents of the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, and overseas US territories who have been diagnosed with specific RECA-compensable diseases and who may have been exposed, even in utero, to radiation from U.S. nuclear-weapons testing fallout. However, because the risks of radiation-induced disease are generally low at the exposure levels of concern in RECA populations, in most cases it is unlikely that exposure to radioactive fallout was a substantial contributing cause of cancer. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Legislation and Compensation 3 Basic Concepts in Radiation Physics, Biology, and Epidemiology 4 Review of Recent Data on Radiation Epidemiology, Biology, and Dosimetry 5 Expanding RECA Eligibility: Scientific Issues 6 Expanding RECA Eligibility: Implementation 7 Diseases, Populations, and Other Issues of Public Concern 8 Ethical Framework 9 Medical Screening 10 Screening for Compensation 11 Education and Outreach References Appendix A: Invited Speakers and Public Comment Appendix B: A Comparison of the Risk of Skin Cancer with the Risk of Lung Cancer from Exposure to Radon Decay Products in Underground Mines Appendix C: Radioactivity in Guam After Nuclear-Weapons Testing in the Pacific Appendix D: The Optimal Criterion for Positivity in Screening Appendix E: Selected Cancer-Screening Recommendations Glossary List of Abbreviations Committee and Staff Biographies"
Full Product Details
Author: National Research Council ,
Division on Earth and Life Studies ,
Board on Radiation Effects Research ,
Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program
Publisher: National Academies Press
Imprint: National Academies Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 3.00cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.658kg
ISBN: 9780309096102
ISBN 10: 0309096103
Pages: 430
Publication Date: 01 October 2005
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
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Author Information
Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program, National Research Council
