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Downwinders refers to the individuals and communities in the intermountain area between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges primarily in Arizona, Nevada and Utah but also in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who are exposed to radioactive contamination or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or underground nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents.〔Grossman, C M, W E Morton, and R H Nussbaum. "Hypothyroidism And Spontaneous Abortions Among Hanford, Washington, Downwinders." Archives Of Environmental Health 51.3 (1996): 175-176. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 7 May 2015.〕 More generally, the term can also include those communities and individuals who are exposed to ionizing radiation and other emissions due to the regular production and maintenance of coal ash, radionuclides associated with hydraulic fracturing, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, nuclear waste and geothermal energy.〔http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/geothermal.html Geothermal Energy Production Waste.〕 In regions near U.S. nuclear sites, downwinders may be exposed to releases of radioactive materials into the environment that contaminate their groundwater systems, food chains, and the air they breathe. Some downwinders may have suffered acute exposure due to their involvement in uranium mining and nuclear experimentation.〔Simon, Steven L. “Radiation Doses To Local Populations Near Nuclear Weapons Test Sites Worldwide,” Health Physics. 82(5):706-725, May 2002〕 Several severe adverse health effects, such as an increased incidence of cancers, thyroid diseases, CNS neoplasms, and possibly female reproductive cancers that could lead to congenital malformations have been observed in "downwind" communities exposed to nuclear fallout and radioactive contamination.〔Cancers among Residents Downwind of the Hanford, Washington, Plutonium Production Site. By: Grossman, Charles M., Nussbaum, Rudi H., Nussbaum, Fred D., Archives of Environmental Health, 00039896, May2003, Vol. 58, Issue 5〕 The impact of nuclear contamination on an individual is generally estimated as the result of the dose of radiation received and the duration of exposure, using the linear no-threshold model (LNT). Sex, age, race, culture, occupation, class, location, and simultaneous exposure to additional environmental toxins are also significant, but often overlooked, factors that contribute to the health effects on a particular "downwind" community.〔Dr. Arjun Mahkijani, "Science for the Vulnerable: Setting Radiation and Multiple Exposure Environmental Health Standards to Protect Those Most at Risk," October 19, 2006: http://www.ieer.org/campaign/report.pdf〕 == Downwinders and nuclear testing == Between 1945 and 1980, the United States, the U.S.S.R, the United Kingdom, France and China exploded 504 nuclear devices in atmospheric tests at thirteen primary sites yielding the explosive equivalent of 440 megatons of TNT. Of these atmospheric tests, 330 were conducted by the United States. Accounting for all types of nuclear tests, official counts show that the United States has conducted 1,054 nuclear weapons tests to date, involving at least 1,151 nuclear devices, most of which occurred at Nevada Test Site and the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands, with ten other tests taking place at various locations in the United States, including Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, and New Mexico. There have been an estimated 2,000 nuclear tests conducted worldwide; the number of nuclear tests conducted by the United States alone is currently more than the sum of nuclear testing done by all other known nuclear states (the USSR, Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea) combined.〔Nuclear weapons testing#Nuclear testing by country〕〔(Gallery of U.S. Nuclear Tests )〕 These nuclear tests infused vast quantities of radioactive material into the world’s atmosphere, which was widely dispersed and then deposited as global fallout.〔Simon, Steven L., André Bouville and Charles E. Land, “Fallout from Nuclear Weapons Tests and Cancer Risks,” American Scientist, vol. 94 (January – February .〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Downwinders」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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