Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER)
What is the JCCRER?
JCCRER is the Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation Effects
Research. This is a bilateral Government committee representing
agencies from the United States and the Russian Federation tasked
with coordinating scientific research on the health effects
of exposure to ionizing radiation in the Russian Federation
from the production of nuclear weapons.
Why is the JCCRER important?
Jointly conducting radiation research with the Russian Federation
provides a unique opportunity to learn more about possible
risks to groups of people from lengthy exposure to radiation.
This could include people receiving exposure from uranium
mining, operation of nuclear facilities, transport and disposal
of radioactive materials, testing and dismantling nuclear
weapons, radiation accidents, and grossly contaminated sites
or facilities.
In 1948, the Soviet Union established a nuclear weapons production
complex called the Mayak Production Association (Mayak) in
the Southern Urals about 100 km northeast of the city of Chelyabinsk.
Enormous amounts of radioactive materials were released into
the environment after a series of accidents and poor management
practices at the Mayak complex between 1948 and 1967. As a
result, thousands of square kilometers have been contaminated
and hundreds of thousands of people have received significant
radiation exposures. Furthermore, because of limited and inadequate
(by today's standards) radiation protection measures and procedures,
thousands of Mayak workers were seriously overexposed to radiation.
Most of our knowledge of health effects and risks associated
with radiation exposures is based on studies of atomic bomb
survivors in Japan. The atomic bomb survivors, however, were
exposed to a very short burst of external radiation, unlike
the pattern of exposure normally encountered or expected in
the nuclear industry and in other uses of radiation. The people
in the Southern Urals, on the other hand, experienced chronic
exposures over a much longer period. The exposures were also
from both external radiation and internally deposited radioactive
compounds. Definitive studies on the Southern Urals populations,
coupled with comparisons with U.S. nuclear worker data, may
prove to be a key factor in future reassessments of radiation
protection standards and regulations in the United States
and worldwide. Thus, the preservation, restoration, and analysis
of radiation exposure medical and environmental data in the
Southern Urals are extremely important to the United States
and to the world. The Southern Urals' database may provide
an opportunity to answer the question of whether chronic low-level
exposures pose a risk different from previously assumed.
Given these opportunities to advance our knowledge about the
effects of ionizing radiation on humans and on the environment,
on January 14, 1994, the Governments of the United States
and the Russian Federation signed an Agreement on Cooperation
in Research on Radiation Effects for the Purpose of Minimizing
the Consequences of Radioactive Contamination on Health and
the Environment. In diplomatic terms, a bilateral agreement
is the highest level of government-to-government agreement.
In March 1999, the Agreement was renewed for 5 more years.
It expired on January 14, 2004. The U.S. and Russian Governments
are currently in the process of reviewing an extension of
the Agreement through January 14, 2009.
The bilateral radiation effects research conducted under the
auspices of the JCCRER is referred to as the Russian Health
Studies Program. It is administered by the Department of Energy's
Office of Health Studies in the United States and by the Ministry
of Health's Scientific Research Center Institute of Biophysics
Federal Department (Medbioextrem) in the Russian Federation.
What
is the Russian Health Studies Program?
JCCRER projects funded by DOE comprise DOE's Russian Health
Studies Program.
The Russian Health Studies Program was developed to assess
worker and public health risks from radiation exposure resulting
from nuclear weapons production activities in the former Soviet
Union. The goals and objectives are to:
- Better understand the relationship between health effects
and chronic, low-to-medium dose radiation exposures
- Estimate radiation-induced cancer risks from exposure
to gamma, neutron, and alpha radiation; and
- Provide information to national and international organizations
engaged in determining and validating radiation protection
standards/practices.
Presently, DOE supports radiation dose reconstruction studies,
epidemiologic studies, molecular and radiobiological studies,
and a tissue repository. All research is focused on workers
at Mayak Production Association, Russia's first nuclear weapons
production facility, and on residents in communities surrounding
the facility. In FY 2005, researchers published over 14 scientific
articles in peer-reviewed journals.
What are the principal areas of cooperation under the JCCRER
Agreement?
Under the provisions of the Agreement, the associated work deals
broadly with research in the field of effects of ionizing radiation.
Currently, three different research directions are supported:
population studies (Direction 1); worker studies (Direction
2); and emergency management (Direction 3). The various projects
under each direction are jointly conducted by both U.S. and
Russian principal investigators and their respective teams of
researchers.
Who are the members of the JCCRER?
U.S. JCCRER Members:
| Department of Energy (DOE), Co-chair: |
Russell Shearer |
| Department of Defense (DoD): |
Robert Foster |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): |
Elizabeth Cotsworth |
| Department of Health & Human Services/Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): |
Vacant |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA): |
Vacant |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) |
Vacant |
Russian JCCRER Members:
| Ministry for Civil Defense Affairs, Emergencies
and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM),
Co-chair: |
Nadezshda V. Gerasimova |
| Federal Agency for Atomic Energy (FAAE):
Vacant |
|
What is the role of the U.S. JCCRER?
The U.S. JCCRER functions as the clearinghouse of projects
on health effects of radiation with the Russian Federation,
funded by member agencies. This includes:
- Promoting joint U.S./Russian workshops;
- Minimizing duplication of projects on the same population;
- Encouraging similar projects on different populations;
and
- Facilitating the integration of projects being funded
by different agencies.
Note: The U.S. JCCRER does not function as a manager
or overseer of all projects. It is the responsibility of each
funding agency to manage its projects.
How does the JCCRER function?
The day-to-day business is conducted by the JCCRER Executive
Committee, which consists of representatives of JCCRER member
agencies. The JCCRER Executive Committee ensures direct communication
among the partners within the Agreement, coordinates the work
of national organizations, and ensures the effective and efficient
implementation of JCCRER goals and objectives.
Although it was envisioned that the full JCCRER meet once
a year in alternating countries, the successful implementation
of the projects within the Russian Health Studies Program
has resulted in less need for annual meetings.
Who are the members of the JCCRER Executive Committee?
U.S. JCCRER Executive Committee Members:
| Department of Energy (DOE), Co-chair: |
Steven Cary |
Department of Defense (DoD):
|
Richard Lofts |
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
|
Jerome Puskin |
Department of Health & Human Services/Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
|
Vacant |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA):
|
Vacant |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): |
Vincent Holahan |
Russian JCCRER Executive Committee Members:
Ministry of Health and Social Development
(MINZDRAV),
Co-chair: |
Mikhail Kiselev |
| Federal Agency for Atomic Energy (FAAE):
|
Alexander Panfilov |
Ministry for Civil Defense Affairs, Emergencies
and Elimination of Consequences of Natural
Disasters (EMERCOM): |
Tatyana Marchenko
|
Scientific Review Group
Projects conducted under the auspices of the JCCRER are
reviewed by independent U.S. and Russian Scientific Review
Groups (SRG). The primary purpose of the SRG is to critically
review and evaluate technical progress reports and proposals
and recommendation research priorities to DOE and Medbioextrem.
U.S. SRG Members:
| Nolan Hertel, Co-Chair, |
Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Harold Beck, Retired, |
DOE Environmental Measurements Laboratory |
| Scott Davis, |
University of Washington |
| William Morgan, |
University of Maryland |
| David Rush, |
Professor Emeritus, Tufts University |
| Rodney Withers, |
University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center |
Russian SRG Members:
| Leonid Ilyin, Co-Chair, |
Russian National Academy of Medical Sciences |
| Angelina Guskova, |
Scientific Research Center, Institute of Biophysics |
| Victor Ivanov, |
Russian National Academy of Medical Sciences |
| Evgenia Aksel, |
Oncological Scientific Center |
| Evgeny Kramer-Ageev, |
Moscow State Engineering Physics Institute |
| Samuel Yarmonenko, |
Oncological Scientific Center |
Which institutions in Russia are currently participating
in JCCRER activities?
South Urals Biophysics Institute (SUBI), Ozersk
Mayak Production Association, Ozersk
Urals Research Center for
Radiation Medicine (URCRM), Chelyabinsk
Scientific Research
Center Institute of Biophysics of the Federal Department (Medbioextrem),
Moscow
This page was last updated on January 05, 2007
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