Experts Sought for Feasibility Assessment of Manhattan Project Waste Study: Sept. 22 Deadline

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) has issued a call for experts to participate in a feasibility assessment of a possible study of health effects among military veterans from exposure to radioactive and other waste related to the Manhattan Project. NAS is assembling a committee of approximately 10 experts in fields that include dose reconstruction, exposure and risk assessment, risk communication, and health physics. Other fields of interest are cancer epidemiology and biostatistics. Suggestions of individuals NAS should consider for the committee may be made through the NAS website by next Friday, Sept. 22.

The feasibility assessment is intended to identify relevant available records and describe a process for accessing them. The committee is expected to characterize the information in these records as it relates to the number of veterans exposed to toxic substances during the Manhattan Project, their demographic characteristics, types of exposures, other military missions that may have contributed to the veterans’ overall health risks, and health outcomes such as cancer occurrence and cause of death.

The study was requested by Congress as part of a law passed in 2022 that addresses health care, research, and other matters related to veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service. The NAS committee will determine whether the study is possible based on available data.

For more information or to submit suggestions for the committee, visit the NAS website.