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Heakh group recommends preliminary health study of ‘Downwinders’ RICBLAND - A panel of health and environmental ucperts will recommend further study of suspected illne caused by releases of radiation from Hanford Nuclear ResewsThe group, ixr a-report today to the state Nuclear Waste 3oard. w i l l stop shon of callin for a major health study. day that panel members aere concerned about mave experunental releases of I+ dine-131 fromthe nudear reservation during ergy in February. ‘“The panel considered these ape quite high and senow enough to be concerned abouL” said Caldwell. assistant director of the Arizona Depanmmt of Health Services and a Ref em g to a slngle release of 340,000 curies of iodine. Caldwell said. ‘That’s the largest emmure I’ve ever encountered in trus Allen Conklin of the state Office of Radiation Protection told reporters this week. “If that happened today, we’d call out the NaHanford, at the time, did not inform the A study released Monday by the Office of Radiation Protection estimated idants living kt Pasco in L945 could have received as much as 2.295 r e m of iodine rhat year. An infant in Spokane could have rcceiveci 256 rems, the In cornpartson, an X-ray delivers a dose of today, ‘we’d Cau out is -001 of aabout 25 millirems. Amdhm The stndg said a Pasco adult could have absorbed 476 rems. and a Spokane adult up to The Ifmember health panel was convened by the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, at the request of the Nuclear W v t e Board. The board was responding to concerns of residents U!hO Live downwind of Hanford and claim a higher than normal incidence of The U S Department of Energy, which runs Hanford. contends its studies of Eanford workers show no unusual health problenis. Yo study has been done oi nearby residents: howThe panel approved resolutions Tb+dap night calling for consideration of a gkqeral ority” should be deveiopmg a sysrem to determine the rate of thyroid disease among nearby residents. Iodine collects in the chy‘roid and map cause cancer. produced by cows that graze on conm@.nated The anel didn’t say how the study should be con&cted by whom or what it could @sr The health panel also agreed to rgomated in Washington, Oregon and Idaho tolcallect information from hospital discharge effects of Hanford. It also will recommend the W E expind its existing studies of Hanford workers to include militam and consrractioa worke~$. It Caldwell said the panel decided nor t o recommend the state seek a full health sed? until it determines whether enough information would be available to mike a’; <Trudy “You want to see if you can do anvttung before you be up all the money,” he said.