New Research to Study Health Effects of Nuclear Weapons Tests

Tuesday 14 May 2002

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research today announced the start of a major new study into long-term effects on health of exposure to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing.

Sponsored by the UN Population Fund, this study will use formerly secret information from Soviet archives to look at births and mortality, including cancer mortality, in people living in an area of Kazakhstan near where the former Soviet Union tested around 450 nuclear weapons.

The investigators will be studying the health records of around 50,000 people who have lived and/or were born in Semipalatinsk, or in an unexposed 'control' area, during the test period that ran from 1949 to 1989. Once assembled, these data will be used to analyse whether unfavourable birth outcomes and mortality from cancer at young ages could be the result of exposure to fallout from weapons testing.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow, an epidemiologist at The Institute of Cancer Research who is working on this research, explains:

"Given the history of Semipalatinsk, people there are understandably concerned to know whether their health has been adversely affected by the nuclear weapons testing in the area. We now have an opportunity to investigate the legacy of the weapons testing on the Semipalatinsk population. I hope this will provide local people with some answers to their worries, as well as increasing general knowledge about the effects of such exposure."

Once completed, the results of this research will inform other international studies into the health impact of radioactive fallout.

Research in this area was made possible through international co-operation between The Institute of Cancer Research and collaborators in Semipalatinsk and Germany. The Soviet Government at the time of the tests monitored the health of the population through a local secret medical institution referred to as 'Dispensary No 4'. A portion of the data in the archives have been examined in a study from the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, but this will be the first time that the archive's data have been used on this scale for modern analyses.

Dr Apsalikov of the Scientific Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology in Semipalatinsk comments:

"Our existing records and the work we have been engaged in will provide a basis for this research. However we will also be collecting new data for this study, specifically looking at births and deaths in previously unrecorded families. We will be comparing health records for people living very close to the weapons testing site and records for people living further away to try to determine whether there are differences related to the radiation from the nuclear explosions."

Professor Gusev also from the Institute in Semipalatinsk concurs:

"Having worked in this area for numerous years, it is exciting to have this opportunity to work alongside fellow investigators from The Institute of Cancer Research and Germany. I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labours."

The findings from this study will be published after the study data collection is completed in a few years time.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow is available for interview. For further information please contact David Meechan in the Press Office at The Institute of Cancer Research on 020 7970 6056

Notes to editors

• The Semipalatinsk Oblast (region) is in Kazakhstan. Its population was 410,000 people in 1949 (when weapons testing started) and 750,000 in 1962. Semipalatinsk city itself is located 150 km from the test site.
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) helps developing countries find solutions to their population problems. UNFPA began operations in 1969. It is the largest international source of population assistance. About a quarter of all population assistance from donor nations to developing countries is channelled through UNFPA.
• The Scientific Research Institute of Radiation Medicine and Ecology was created in 1991 on the basis of a formerly confidential medical institution (the Dispensary 4). The aims of the Institute include estimating the radiation outside the nuclear weapons test area, estimating the loss of life in Kazakhstan as a result of the exposure to radiation and introducing programs of rehabilitation to minimise the post-radiation effects.
• The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is a national body for radiation protection in Germany. One of its many tasks is radiation epidemiology, and in recent years efforts have been undertaken to evaluate the effects of atomic bomb testing in Kazakhstan.
• The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with some of the world's leading scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.
• The Institute works in a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital, which enables scientific discoveries to be translated quickly into patient care.