Radiation-Related Health Issues
Information for veterans, including atomic veterans, and their families about exposure to ionizing radiation during military service
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Veterans Involved
- Atomic Veterans – Veterans who were involved in the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who were prisoners of war in Japan, or who participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.
- Veterans exposed to other service-related "radiation-risk activities," including those who served at gaseous diffusion plants in Kentucky and Ohio or at area K25 in Tennessee before February 1, 1992, and those who participated in certain underground nuclear weapons tests on Amchitka Island, Alaska before January 1, 1974.
- Other veterans who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation, including veterans who received nasopharyngeal (NP) radium treatments during their military service.
Ionizing Radiation Program
VA's Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards helps develop policies for diagnosing and treating exposure to ionizing radiation during military service. As part of this work, we work closely with the Veterans Benefits Administration to review compensation claims cases involving veterans exposed to ionizing radiation.
Epidemiological studies of Japanese atomic bomb survivors have shown an association between exposure to radiation and a number of disorders, including leukemia, various cancers and cataracts.
Health Services and Disability Benefits
VA provides special priority enrollment for health care services to atomic veterans for radiation-related conditions. Atomic veterans also are eligible to participate in VA’s Ionizing Radiation Registry examination program.
For information on health services
For information on disability benefits
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