NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR 

EXPERTS TO CONDUCT NRC-SPONSORED CANCER RISK STUDY 

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is seeking nominations for membership on the 

“Committee on the Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1,” part 

of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-sponsored, state-of-the-art study. 

Information on the study background, task and schedule can be found on the Internet at 

http://www.nationalacademies.org/cancerriskstudy. Nominations (including nominee name, contact 

information, and biographical information if available) will be accepted through Sept. 30, 2010, and 

can be submitted by email (crs@nas.edu), phone (202-334-3066), or fax (202-334-2077). 

 

Two primary criteria will be used by the NAS to screen committee nominations. 

(1) Technical expertise – nominees should have expertise and experience in one or more of the 

following technical disciplines: 

 

· Demography/spatial analysis 

· Dosimetry 

· Epidemiology (radiation and general) 

· Health physics 

· Industrial toxicology 

· Medicine/oncology 

· Nuclear engineering (familiarity with nuclear plant operations) 

· Public health 

· Radiobiology 

· Radionuclide fate and transport and modeling (air and water) 

· Risk communication/public communication 

· Social science (environmental justice) 

· Statistics/Biostatistics. 

 

(2) Conflict of Interest – nominees should not have any financial or other interest that would 

conflict with their service on the committee. The NAS conflict of interest guidance applicable to 

this project can be found on the Internet at http://dels.nas.edu/global/nrsb/conflictofinterest. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 10-154 September 1, 2010
The NAS project will provide an up-to-date version of the 1990 U.S. National Institutes of 

Health’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) report, “Cancer in Populations Living Near Nuclear 

Facilities” (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/nuclear-facilities). The NRC uses 

the NCI report as a primary resource when communicating with the public about cancer mortality 

risk in counties that contain or are adjacent to nuclear power facilities. In the new study, the NRC is 

also interested in having the NAS evaluate cancer diagnosis rates, as well as exploring how to 

divide the study areas around the facilities into geographical units smaller than the counties used in 

the NCI report. 

The NCI report studied more than 900,000 cancer deaths from 1950-1984, using mortality 

records collected from counties that contain nuclear facilities. The researchers evaluated changes in 

mortality rates for 16 types of cancer in these counties from 1950 until each facility began 

operation, up until 1982. Cancer diagnosis information was only available for four facilities located 

in Iowa and Connecticut, due to the lack of this type of data being collected. The NCI report 

showed no increased risk of death from cancer for people living in the 107 U.S. counties containing 

or closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities, including all of the nuclear power reactors operational 

before 1982. 

The National Academy of Sciences is a non-governmental organization chartered by the 

U.S. Congress to advise the nation on issues of science, technology, and medicine. Through the 

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, it carries out studies independently of the 

government using processes designed to promote transparency, objectivity, and technical rigor. 

More information on its methods for performing studies is available at 

http://www.nationalacademies.org/studycommitteprocess.pdf. 

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