Long Term Mortality and Cancer Risk in Irradiated Rhesus Monkeys

Abstract

Lifetime observations on a group of 358 rhesus monkeys indicate that life expectancy loss from exposure to protons in the energy range encountered in the Van Allen belts and solar proton events is influenced primarily by the dose rather than the energy of radiation. After 24 years, life expectancy losses from similar surface doses of low-LET (138-2300 MeV) and high-LET (32-55 MeV) protons are not significantly different, but the high-LET protons are associated with more deaths in the early years, while the low-LET protons contribute more to mortality in later years. In males, the most significant cause of life shortening is nonleukemia cancers. Keywords: Space radiation; Radiobiology; Protons; Radiation safety; Radiation protection.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA224337

Entities

People

  • David H. Wood

Organizations

  • United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adenocarcinoma
  • Aerospace Medicine
  • Age Groups
  • Cancer
  • Computer Programming
  • Information Science
  • Medical Personnel
  • Neoplasms
  • Radiation Protection
  • Radiation Sickness
  • Risk Analysis
  • Sarcoma
  • Small Intestine
  • Solar Flares
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Wounds And Injuries
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Space