Question hit a nerve, sorry for length

 

Subject: Chronic Low level Neutron Radiation Exposure

 

Background:

In December of 1992 at the United States Army Missile and Munitions Center and School (USAOMMCS), Redstone Arsenal, AL 35897, a meeting was called to brief all active duty nuclear weapons specialists, military occupational series (55G) about past neutron radiation exposure. The meeting was given by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), and if my memory is not wrong there was also a Department of Energy (DOE) representative present. I regret at the time I did not write down their names. The DNA medical officer indicated that new TLD dosimetry devises were indicating that the low-level neutron radiation exposure from the weapons was potentially five (5) to twenty (20) times more toxic then previously believed. That film badges were ineffective and only the new TLD badges were effective in determining exposure levels to neutron radiation from the warheads. That film badges were at that time the only recognized record of past exposure. The representative indicated that they would be developing models based an nuclear warhead type and estimated close proximity time required to maintain said warhead and frequency of maintenance and storage monitoring for said warhead.  That military personnel records, and warhead maintenance records would be used to determine whether the individual was assigned to a unit where maintenance and storage of nuclear ordnance took place. It was pointed out to the meeting representatives that at numerous occasions storage monitoring, storage maintenance and emergency destruction training and exercises would occur in bunkers containing warheads in mass arrays therefore multiplying neutron exposure. It was also discussed that radiation exposure is cumulative and maintenance constituted chronic exposure. The representatives indicated that we as a group would eventually be interviewed individually and monitored, and as a population used to determine low–level neutron exposure criteria and limits.

 

Shortly there after the Army nuclear branch was disbanded, as it was decided that small tactical devices were no longer needed, by presidential decision. I retired.

 

No subsequent interviews or study on that above was performed to my knowledge. I did submit this information to the Veterans Administration between Jul 1993 and Jun 1995. Their response was, which above ground nuclear tests had I been a party too?

 

On June 5^th of 2008, I was diagnosed after a year of frustrating medical tests, that I had contracted Motor Neuron disease (MND), of which the most common is ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I was diagnosed with a less comon variant PLS or Primary lateral sclerosis. In december of 2008 I was medically retired I am 55. I submitted for a study on PLS with the National Institute of Health was turned down as I was required to have PLS 3 years from date of diagnosis without it becoming ALS. ALS is recognized as a service connected condition, PLS is not. ALS is considered fatal where PLS is not, both paralize voluntary mussle response but PLS does not cause the mussle wasting that causes death in ALS.

 

The article on NASA exposing monkeys to low level radiation hit my sensabilities, I consider myself an unwitting lab rat do to the above, and may be not intentionally ignored or swept under a buracratic rug.

 

TLD: thermoluminescent dosimetry. Reference Health Physics Society, Answer to question #4321 Submitted to “Ask the Experts”.

Question: I know that the radiation-absorbed dose is measured using different instruments, for example with using TLD (thermoluminescent dosimetry), but I do not know how. Would you explain how it works?

Answer: When ionizing radiation interacts with any material, such as crystals, the radiation deposits either all or part of the initial energy in that material. Some of the atoms in the material that absorbs that energy become ionized, producing free electrons and holes.

Most crystals contain impurities, thus producing irregularities within the crystal structure (lattice). The imperfections in the crystal lattice act as sites where free electrons can become trapped, locking them in the crystal.

Heating the crystal causes the crystal lattice to vibrate, releasing the trapped electrons in the process. Released electrons return to the original ground state, releasing the captured energy from ionization as light. Released light is counted using photomultiplier tubes. The number of photons counted is proportional to the amount of energy deposited in the crystal. This technique of measuring radiation dose by reading photons emitted from crystals as it is heated is called thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD).

Simple TLD readers heat TLD crystals (sometimes referred to as "chips") one at a time either by a hot planchet (like a hot plate) or by hot gas. The heating is done in a dark, light-tight chamber so that extraneous light will not interfere with the reading. The light emitted from the crystal is counted. A conversion factor is applied to the reading to quantify how much radiation the TLD crystal was exposed to.

More sophisticated automated TLD readers, such as a Harshaw 8800, use TLD crystals mounted on an aluminum and Teflon^® card. Up to four crystals are mounted on one card. Each card has a unique identification number and conversion factor for each crystal associated with it. Filters made of different materials (for example, plastic, aluminum, copper, etc.) and thicknesses are placed in front of the crystals when used.

The purpose of having up to four crystals behind filters is to help determine the type and energy of incident radiation since different material reduces the amount of ionizing radiation from getting to the crystals differently.

In the automated reader, the four crystals are heated simultaneously with hot gas and light output from each crystal is read out separately. Dose calculating algorithm is applied to the readings from the crystals to calculate the radiation dose to the individual wearing the dosimeter.

Toshihide Ushino, CHP

Note: from MIRION Technologies web site. Reference CR39 Neutron product and neutron detection. Quote “Exposure to neutrons cannot be detected by film and requires a specific calibration for TLD dosimeters. A computer-controlled system provides objective, error-free dose assessment, and establishes a permanent record of exposure.”

 

ALS: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

 

Symptoms

Symptoms usually do not develop until after age 50. Persons with ALS have a loss of muscle strength and coordination that eventually gets worse. This eventually makes one unable to do routine tasks such as going up steps, getting out of a chair, or swallowing.

Breathing or swallowing muscles may be the first muscles affected. As the disease gets worse, more muscle groups develop problems. ALS does not affect the senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch), bladder or bowel function, or a person's ability to think or reason.

 

Symptoms include: Difficulty breathing, Difficulty swallowing, Gagging, Chokes easily,

Head drop due to weak spinal and neck muscles, Muscle cramps, Muscle weakness that slowly gets worse, Commonly involves one part of the body first, such as the arm or hand

Eventually leads to difficulty lifting, climbing stairs, and walking, Paralysis, Speech problems, such as a slow or abnormal speech pattern, Voice changes, hoarseness

 

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Drooling, Muscle contractions, Muscle spasms, Ankle, feet, and leg swelling, Weight loss

 

Treatment

There is no known cure for ALS. The first drug treatment for the disease is a medicine called riluzole. Riluzole may prolong life, but does not reverse or stop the disease from getting worse.

 

PLS: PRIMARY LATERAL SCLEROSIS
Patients newly diagnosed with motor neuron diseases quickly become familiar with different varieties of motor neuron-related illness. At the Packard Center, most queries we get about other diseases center on primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), probably because its early stages and those of ALS in some patients can resemble each other. Here we’ve pooled information on PLS from several online sources and medical journals and verified it with Packard Center physicians as a service to those who visit this site.

 

What it is
Like ALS, PLS is a disease of motor neurons. It’s progressive and causes nerve degeneration. But unlike ALS, PLS affects primarily upper motor neurons—those whose nerve cell bodies are in the brain and which deliver impulses to, and thus control, the activity of lower motor neurons. The latter innervate the muscles of the face, throat, larynx and limbs, the trunk and respiratory muscles. With ALS, there’s degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons. 

 

How Does PLS Differ From ALS in Appearance?
PLS brings about the onset of stiffness and spasms (spasticity) as well as progressive weakness in various voluntary muscles, frequently beginning with the legs. Typically, symptoms extend to the arms, hands and both speech and swallowing muscles.

The disease progresses gradually—usually over 20 years—and, though life-changing and disabling, it isn’t fatal. This contrasts with ALS, which typically causes death three to five years after diagnosis.

Also, unlike ALS, PLS does not result in muscle-wasting. People with PLS do not experience the small local contractions of muscles beneath the skin, or fasciculations, often seen in ALS patients.

Questions in diagnosis can arise, though, because early on, PLS and ALS may have a number of signs and symptoms in common. That’s because, in some patients, ALS begins as an upper motor disease; its complete extension to lower neurons doesn’t come until later. So it looks like it could be PLS.

Because the average age of onset is similar, thorough testing is necessary. But even then, diagnosis may be uncertain for some patients and it’s only after waiting several years that the matter becomes clear. How many years is a matter of debate. Most physicians say at least three because the quicker course of ALS will become obvious by then.

“We sometimes think of PLS as an early stage of ALS,” says Jeffrey Rothstein, who heads the Packard Center. “That’s because it can evolve into the more serious disease. Even though it may be the last thing patients who have no obvious signs of lower motor disease want to do, we advise them to get checked every six months or so by their neurologist. They’ll have an electromyelogram (see below) to tell if muscles are changing in a characteristic way. If you know what’s ahead, you can do things to postpone disability longer or change your surroundings so you cope better.”

PLS may also resemble one or two other diseases early on, such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, but they’re fairly quickly crossed out because of faster progression.

 

How common is PLS?
According to information on one reputable web site (see list below), PLS is only about one half of one percent as common as ALS. That’s about one person in 10 million getting newly-diagnosed each year. The figures, though, are uncertain, in contrast to those for ALS, which affects two or three in 100,000 people in the United States.

 

Diagnosing PLS
A diagnosis of PLS basically comes by eliminating it from other neurological diseases. Neurologists first take a detailed patient history. They’ll ask about hoarseness, chronic muscle cramping and stiffness, for example, and if neurological disease runs in the family. They’ll also perform a thorough neurological exam, observing reflexes, balance, muscle strength and coordination, among other things. Blood tests are called for, to rule out conditions like long-standing syphilis. There’s typically an MRI of the brain and spine, motor and sensory nerve conduction studies and an electromyogram (EMG) to check on muscle response to stimulation. EMGs—especially repeated periodically at intervals—can reveal if upper or lower motor nerves are involved, or both. Spinal fluid is often checked to look for antibodies typical in multiple sclerosis.

 

I won't post a link here, because the video is too disturbing and gruesome to post here.  But if you want to see what animal testing and "scientific" cruelty are all about, look up a video named "anti-vivisection" by "madhutchings" on youtube.  Caution, this vid contains images of animals, including dogs and cats, that have been mutilated alive and left to suffer in ways that the world's worst criminals do not deserve.  Do not watch this video if you are an emotional person.

We probably already have that study tucked away in some forgotton pile.