Abstract
While the majority of concussion/TBI studies focused on injured athletes, accident victims and military personnel in theater, recent studies suggest that repetitive undiagnosed or sub concussive events may also lead to significant long term health issues (e.g. early onset dementia, CTE). Military personnel in a variety of occupations are consistently and repetitively exposed to low level blast and report the same symptoms as seen in studies of uninjured explosive entry personnel (e.g. memory issues, headache & fatigue) yet little information on the level and quantity of exposures exists. PURPOSE: To quantify blast OP exposure in military personnel who are consistently and repetitively exposed to low level blast. METHODS: Artillery (105 mm Howitzer, N = 20, Ft Sill, OK) and mortar team (120 mm, N =5, Ft Benning, GA) crew members were instrumented with multiple blast pressure gauges (Black Box Biometrics, model B3-H) during operational training. Artillery crew (active training unit) fired 30-100 rounds per day at 3 different charge levels on 4 separate days while the mortar crew (Infantry Mortar Leader Course) fired 10 rounds at 2 different charges. RESULTS: Artillery crew OP exposure per round ranged from 0.6-1.1 psi with the highest exposure (average & peak) observed in the crew chief and assistant gunner. Mortar crew OP exposure ranged from 0.5-3.5 psi with the highest exposure experienced by the squad leader and range officer. An evaluation of unit shot sheets identified a minimum exposure of 4200 rounds/year for artillery crew and >500 rounds/year for mortar crew instructors. Additional data on Grenade Range Instructors will also be presented. CONCLUSION: Considering the growing evidence that long term blast injury may be occurring in the absence of overt TBI symptoms, it is important to quantify the number and magnitude of OP exposures in military personnel. Follow on studies will include cognitive and physiological tests in these same populations.
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