Space Radiation Risk Analysis
Oak Ridge Center for Risk Analysis, Inc. (ORRISK) provides scientific support to the NASA Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) for estimation of organ doses and performance of assessments of risk of cancer incidence and mortality from exposures to radiation during space missions, training flights and diagnostic medical imaging necessary for flight certification.
ORRISK provides support for the development of a Risk Analysis Environment (RAE), for the updating of the risk assessment methodology, the use of risk model modifiers (DDREF, QF, transfer to U.S. populations etc.), the quantification of uncertainties, and the interpretation of risk assessment results. ORRISK provides recommendations about best practices for risk assessment and interpretation, evaluation of the credibility of the cancer-specific risk models and their application to U.S. astronauts, and quantification of uncertainties in estimated future and lifetime cancer risks and probability of causation for cancers diagnosed in later life.
The Risk Analysis Environment (RAE) adapts and integrates the NASA Space Cancer Risk Model (NSCR), which is implemented in a programing software capable of handling complex mathematical operations on large multidimensional arrays of data and of evaluating uncertainties using Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. RAE is accessed via a web-browser with a web-based user interface which will allow SRAG to perform dose and risk assessments for individual astronauts.
