Thyroid nodularity in Southwestern Utah school children exposed to fallout radiation.

Abstract

TESTING of nuclear weapons which beI gan in 1951 in Nevada has resulted in repeated exposure to radioactive fission products of large segments of the population living near the test site (Figure 1). The possibility of thyroid injury to infants and young children in Utah and Nevada, as a consequence of exposure to iodine-131 from the fallout, was raised in testimony before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy in 1963.1 As a result, the Bureau of Radiologic Health (USPH) and the Utah Division of Health included a search for thyroid damage in their studies of the hazards to human health from exposure to fallout radiation. Iodine-131, a short-lived product of nuclear fission, settles on forage where it may be eaten by cows grazing on pasture or fed fresh-cut alfalfa (green chop). When ingested by cows, iodine131 is concentrated in milk, a major component of children's food. Iodine131 ingested by the children is concentrated in the thyroid gland, where it L. Rallison, M.D.; W. Thomas London, M.D.;