Global Strike leaders held Missile Community Cancer Study Town Hall
During a virtual town hall Oct. 16, Air Force Global Strike Command provided missile community members the “Burning of Classified Materials Study” and Phase 2 of the Epidemiology Review results, which indicate no environmental cause for cancers. The town hall also disclosed that any carcinogens found have an established remediation protocol to ensure that affected Launch Control Centers can continue to be a safe place for our Airmen to conduct America’s most important national defense mission.
Gen. S.L. Davis, commander of AFGSC, hosted a virtual town hall which included updates from the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, the AFGSC Surgeon General team and other subject-matter experts supporting the Missile Community Cancer Study.
The MCCS included the “Burning of Classified Materials Study” and Phase 2 of the Epidemiology Review, which had partners involved in the study design and in the results review process to ensure the effectiveness of the study. The MCCS results reflected conservative assumptions designed to evaluate potential historical exposures and did not independently establish that service in the missile community caused cancer or other health conditions.
The Burning of Classified Materials Study evaluated potential adverse health effects associated with the historical practice of burning classified materials within Launch Control Centers. Toxicologists, chemists, physics-modeling engineers and emissions-measurement engineers conducted controlled burns and used physics-based modeling to assess potential exposure concentrations and associated cancer and non-cancer risks.
While the burn study’s most conservative modeling scenario produced an estimated cancer risk above the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health risk-management benchmark for occupational carcinogens, the model did not indicate significant long-term non-cancer health effects associated with the former practice.
Phase 2 of the Epidemiology Review examined available cancer-incidence data among missile community personnel, including occupational specialties, periods of service and locations where feasible. Command officials also discussed continuing actions to sustain safe work environments across the missile enterprise, including environmental monitoring, deep-cleaning efforts, mitigation of previously identified areas of concern, and coordination among bioenvironmental, medical, civil engineering and operational teams.
“The health and well-being of our Strikers is fundamental to mission readiness,” said Davis. “As a missileer, this remains personal to me. The work completed through the Missile Community Cancer Study gives us important information to better understand potential risks, sustain safe workplaces and continue caring for those affected by any environmental exposures. We will remain transparent with the missile community and ensure these findings inform our actions moving forward.”
Current and former missile community members can access occupational and environmental health information through the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record. AFGSC will continue working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of the Air Force, USAFSAM and other partners to apply the study’s findings to occupational-health practices, sustainment priorities and support for the missile community, past and present.
For more information about MCCS, town hall announcements and frequently asked questions, visit: https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/Resources/Missile-Community-Cancer-Study/
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