Kazbek N. Apsalikov

Radiation Exposure due to Local Fallout from Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing in Kazakhstan: Solid Cancer Mortality in the Semipalatinsk Historical Cohort, 1960–1999

Abstract Bauer, S., Gusev, B. I., Pivina, L. M., Apsalikov, K. N. and Grosche, B. Radiation Exposure due to Local Fallout from Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing in Kazakhstan: Solid Cancer Mortality in the Semipalatinsk Historical Cohort, 1960–1999. Radiat. Res. 164, 409–419 (2005). Little information is available on the health effects of exposures to fallout from Soviet nuclear weapons testing and on the combined external and internal environmental exposures that have resulted from these tests. This paper reports the first analysis of the Semipalatinsk historical cohort exposed in the vicinity of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan. The cohort study, which includes 19,545 inhabitants of exposed and comparison villages of the Semipalatinsk region, was set up in the 1960s and comprises 582,750 person-years of follow-up between 1960 and 1999. Cumulative effective radiation dose estimates in this cohort range from 20 mSv to ∼4 Sv. Rates of mortality and cancer mortality in the exposed group substantially exceeded those of the comparison group. Dose–response analyses within the exposed group confirmed a significant trend with dose for all solid cancers (P < 0.0001) and for digestive and respiratory cancers (P = 0.0255 and P < 0.0001), whereas no consistent dose–response trend was found for all causes of death (P = 0.4296). Regarding specific cancer sites, a significant trend with dose was observed for lung cancer (P = 0.0001), stomach cancer (P = 0.0050), and female breast cancer (P = 0.0040) as well as for esophagus cancer in women (P = 0.0030). The excess relative risk per sievert for all solid cancers combined was 1.77 (1.35; 2.27) based on the total cohort data, yet a selection bias regarding the comparison group could not be entirely ruled out. The excess relative risk per sievert based on the cohorts exposed group was 0.81 (0.46; 1.33) for all solid cancers combined and thus still exceeds current risk estimates from the Life Span Study. Future epidemiological assessments based on this cohort will benefit from extension of follow-up and ongoing validation of dosimetric data.

Plutonium isotopes and 137Cs in Dolon settlement near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site: About 50 years after the first nuclear weapon testing

Recent controversies concerning the radiation doses for populations living in the village of Dolon due to the nuclear explosions carried out at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS) have encouraged us to evaluate in more detail the levels and distributions of residual long-lived radionuclides137Cs and Pu isotopes (238Pu,239,240Pu) in soils within the village. Soil core samples up to a depth of about 30 cm and/or 100 cm were collected at 25 sites and subjected to analysis of 137Cs and Pu isotopes. The inventories of 137Cs and 239,240Pu were found to be in the wide range of 790-10,310 and 530-14,320 Bq/m2, respectively. Sequential leaching of Pu from the soil showed that more than ca. 80% of the 239,240Pu was not leached by hot digestion with conc. HNO3 + H2O2, indicating the presence of Pu associated with fused silicates. Further, the presence of hot-particles from the Pu contaminants by a-track radiography technique using CR-39 polycarbonate was confirmed in the soil, even at present, after about 50 years from the first nuclear weapon testing.

Mortality from Cardiovascular Diseases in the Semipalatinsk Historical Cohort, 1960–1999, and its Relationship to Radiation Exposure

The data on risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease due to radiation exposure at low or medium doses are inconsistent. This paper reports an analysis of the Semipalatinsk historical cohort exposed to radioactive fallout from nuclear testing in the vicinity of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, Kazakhstan. The cohort study, which includes 19,545 persons of exposed and comparison villages in the Semipalatinsk region, had been set up in the 1960s and comprises 582,656 person-years of follow-up between 1960 and 1999. A dosimetric approach developed by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been used. Radiation dose estimates in this cohort range from 0 to 630 mGy (whole-body external). Overall, the exposed population showed a high mortality from cardiovascular disease. Rates of mortality from cardiovascular disease in the exposed group substantially exceeded those of the comparison group. Dose–response analyses were conducted for both the entire cohort and the exposed group only. A dose–response relationship that was found when analyzing the entire cohort could be explained completely by differences between the baseline rates in exposed and unexposed groups. When taking this difference into account, no statistically significant dose–response relationship for all cardiovascular disease, for heart disease, or for stroke was found. Our results suggest that within this population and at the level of doses estimated, there is no detectable risk of radiation-related mortality from cardiovascular disease.

Sex ratio in the offspring of parents with chronic radiation exposure from nuclear testing in Kazakhstan

Abstract The population of the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan was chronically exposed to radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear tests conducted during 1949–1956 by the Soviet Union. We investigated the effect of radiation exposure and other factors on risks of twinning overall and of same- and different-sex twinning and hence estimated dizygotic and monozygotic twinning rates in 11,605 deliveries around Semipalatinsk, 141 of which were twin, to 3992 mothers exposed to fallout during 1949–1956. Overall, the same-sex twinning rate was 7.85 [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.24, 9.47] per 1000 and the opposite-sex twinning rate was 4.45 (95% CI: 3.23, 5.67). Twinning rates did not differ significantly between radiation exposure categories, parental age at main radiation exposure, or year of birth. Different-sex, but not same-sex, twinning increased with maternal age (Ptrend  =  0.04) but not with other demographic factors and was increased soon after radiation exposure [OR  =  4.08 (95% CI: 1.11, 15.07)] for births occurring within 5 years compared with more than 20 years after exposure; this effect was similar in villages with low and high radiation exposure, however, so interpretation is uncertain.

Studies of Health Effects from Nuclear Testing near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, Kazakhstan

The nuclear bomb testing conducted at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan is of great importance for today’s radiation protection research, particularly in the area of low dose exposures. This type of radiation is of particular interest due to the lack of research in this field and how it impacts population health. In order to understand the possible health effects of nuclear bomb testing, it is important to determine what studies have been conducted on the effects of low dose exposure and dosimetry, and evaluate new epidemiologic data and biological material collected from populations living in proximity to the test site. With time, new epidemiological data has been made available, and it is possible that these data may be linked to biological samples. Next to linking existing and newly available data to examine health effects, the existing dosimetry system needs to be expanded and further developed to include residential areas, which have not yet been taken into account. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of previous studies evaluating the health effects of nuclear testing, including some information on dosimetry efforts, and pointing out directions for future epidemiologic studies.

Chapter 14 – The Legacies of Soviet Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan: Fallout, Public Health and Societal Issues

More than 110 atmospheric nuclear explosions were carried out at the Semipalatinsk test site between 1949 and 1963 and, after the moratorium on above ground nuclear tests, underground nuclear testing was continued until 1989. This chapter describes Soviet and post-Soviet research frameworks and documents some of the scientific debates over nuclear legacies in contemporary Kazakhstan. Nuclear issues played an important role in the independence movements during the late Soviet Union. Efforts to document and mitigate long-term health effects range from epidemiological studies, a compensation program, exposure reconstruction, medical screenings, risk estimation, and radioecology. Reflecting on the changing conditions for research into nuclear legacies, current assessments of the long-term impact of nuclear testing and compensation issues are described.

A full-text english database of testimonies of those exposed to radiation near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan

Masatsugu MATSUO Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University Noriyuki KAWANO Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University Kyoko HIRABAYASHI Postgraduate Student, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Hiroshima University Yasuyuki TOOKA Mazda Hospital Kazbek Negamatovich APSALIKOV Kazakh Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology Masaharu HOSHI Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University

セミパラチンスク地区に居住する子どもとその保護者へのインタビュー調査 : 障がい・疾患と核実験との関連について

本稿は日本学術振興会科学研究費補助金【基盤C】（平成20-22年度）『セミパラチンスク地区の核被害実態調査研究： アンケート・証言・遺伝子解析を通して』（研究代表者：川野徳幸）、【基盤B】（平成23-25年度）『カザフスタン共和国セミパラチンスク地区住民の被ばく被害に関する総合的研究』（研究代表者：川野徳幸）、【基盤B】（平成27-30年度）『被ばく被害の国際比較研究：セミパラチンスク、チェルノブイリ、広島・長崎、福島』（研究代表者：川野徳幸）の研究成果の一部である。 また本稿は、日本平和学会2016年度秋季研究集会での報告に加筆修正を行ったものである。

Reconstruction of individual doses to the Semipalatinsk historical cohort subjects : preliminary results

A description of the methods to reconstruct the deterministic estimates of individual whole-body dose from external irradiation and dose to thyroid from internal irradiation to radioiodines (1311 and 1331) for the subjects (more than 10,000 people) of the Semipalatinsk historical cohort, formed from the residents often settlements (Dolon, Kanonerka, Mostik, Cheremushki, Znamenka, Kainar, Karaul, Sarzhal, Kaskabulak and Kundyzhdy) radioactively contaminated during the atmospheric nuclear weapon testing at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS) has been presented. Four significant nuclear tests (# I 29 August 1949, #2 24 September 1951, #4 12 August 1953, and #28 24 August 1956) that provided the major contribution to radiation doses to the cohort subjects were identified. For each above mentioned settlement the estimates of settlement-average absorbed dose to air from fallout arrival time to infinity and of radioiodine concentration in pasture grass at the fallout arrival time were calculated. In order to assess settlement-average absorbed dose to air from fallout arrival time to infinity the following sources of input data (if any) related to radiological conditions are used: (I) historical fallout patterns showing isopleths of dose in air from the fallout time of arrival until infinity, (2) historical survey meter readings (exposure rate measurements), (3) present-day thermoluminescence measurements in bricks, (4) present-day I37Cs inventory, and (5) present-day ESR measurements of tooth enamel. Whole-body dose from external irradiation has been mainly determined by the radionuclides deposited on the ground following the passage of the radioactive cloud through a settlement. Dose to thyroid from internal irradiation to radioiodines has been mainly determined due to consumption of contaminated cows (horses) milk (koumiss) from grazing animals put on pasture. A joint U.S.lRussian methodology has been applied to derive doses from external and internal irradiation. In order to derive estimates of individual whole-body dose from external irradiation and dose to thyroid from internal irradiation to radioiodines a restricted set of input personal data on the cohort subjects (date of birth, ethnicity, residence history) available in the registry created by the scientists from Kazakhstan and Japan is used. Because of lack of other personal data a life-style and dietary habits typical for a resident from specific age-group and ethnicity is used in dose reconstruction.

A Preliminary study on attitudes toward nuclear weapons and nuclear tests of the residents of Kurchatov, Kazakhstan

Masatsugu MATSUO Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University Yerzhan BEKTOROV Graduate Student, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University Talgat MULDAGALIYEV Kazakh Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology Kazbek APSALIKOV Kazakh Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology Kyoko HIRABAYASHI Postgraduate Student, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Hiroshima University Noriyuki KAWANO Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University