A revised HTDS report is expected by December 2000. The HTDS findings need to be viewed in light of other studies that suggest there is a link between iodine-131 and both benign and malignant thyroid tumors. A study was done of people who lived downwind from the Nevada Test Site and were exposed to nuclear fallout that included iodine-131. Study participants with higher doses were more likely to have thyroid nodules than were those with lower doses. Since 1992, scientists studying possible effects from the 1986 Chernobyl accident have reported that the rates of thyroid cancer were significantly increased among young people.
Some recent data suggest a connection between radionuclide exposure and the thyroid cancers.
Most of the exposure was from iodine-131. However, scientists cannot yet clearly describe the roles of iodine-131 and other factors in contributing to this increase. The National Research Council recently began a study to review the last 10 years of studies on the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation. When using information from dose reconstruction and health studies, readers should keep in mind that the strength of a study's findings is affected by a number of factors, such as the quality of the information available about doses or health outcomes, and the study's design. Many people exposed by Hanford are worried about their health.