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PubMed2003

Autoradiographical methods for the assessment of radionuclides in hot particles on filter samples.

Three different autoradiographical methods were tested for detection, localisation and quantification of radionuclides in hot particles deposited on air filters. With all methods, hot particles could successfully be localised on air filters. Two methods, a X-ray film technique and a digital autoradiography technique using a microchannel array detector, have been examined with particles of known activity and with particles on air filter samples of the Chernobyl area to be able to quantify the 90Sr activity in the hot particles consistently. The results obtained in this study suggest that the digital autoradiography system is a very useful tool having a high efficiency with a low measurement uncertainty and allowing short exposure times for extensive measurement tasks.

Air Pollution, Radioactive↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Seasonal 7Be concentrations in near-surface air of Granada (Spain) in the period 1993-2001.

Near-surface air samples for assessment of seasonal 7Be levels were taken weekly at Granada, Spain, (37 degrees 10'50"N-3 degrees 35'44"W, altitude 670 m) in the period 1993-2001. The 7Be levels measured reflect strong seasonal trends. Concentrations during autumn and/or winter showed a minimum (ca. 1.5 mBq/m3), and in each year a fallout maximum was found in summer (ca. 7.6 mBq/m3). Multiple regression of 7Be concentrations with temperature and rainfall, and with sunspot number explained about 71% of the variance in the 7Be data. The data reveal strong variations in the mean annual 7Be concentrations due to variations in the flux of cosmic galactic primary radiation caused by the 11-year sunspot cycle. A difference of a factor of 2.6 was found between the highest level (5.8 mBq/m3) obtained in 1996 (beginning of the solar cycle 23) and the lowest (2.6 mBq/m3) obtained in 2000 (maximum of the solar cycle 23).

Air Pollution, Radioactive↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Soil gas radon: a tool for exploring active fault zones.

The profile of soil gas radon was monitored in five active fault sites in northern and northwestern Greece. Measurements were carried out during summer months, using CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). The spatial distribution of radon along lines traversing the fault zones revealed anomalies, clearly connected to the local tectonic structure. Specifically, increased radon signals evolved on the radon background level, in the vicinity of the faults' axes and the signal-to-background ratio ranged from 2 to 13. The consistency of this pattern confirms that the radon technique is powerful in the detection and mapping of active fault zones.

Air Pollution, Radioactive↗
PubMed2003

Calibration of diffusion barrier charcoal detectors using a semi-empirical expression.

Several calibration settings of diffusion barrier charcoal canister (DBCC) detectors for measuring radon concentration in air were studied. A set of functions and graphs were developed for relations between radon concentration in air and adsorbed activity in DBCC, when calibrated in small chambers. Both the integration time for 10% of DBCC of a batch, and the radon adsorption coefficient for the activated charcoal used in these detectors, were determined. Thus, a semi-empirical expression for detector calibration was applied.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1999

Terrestrial gamma ray dose rates of Brunei Darussalam.

GPS-indexed in-situ and car-borne survey of terrestrial gamma-ray dose rates were carried out in Brunei and adjacent areas using two portable NaI(Tl) counters. The mean and population weighted average dose rates for Brunei are 34 and 33 nGy/h, respectively. The car-borne data and the in-situ data when spectral analysed separately, were found to show fractal behaviour with D of 1.7 and 1.8, respectively. A contour map of the dose rates was also produced.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed1999

Determination of 210Pb concentration in the air at ground-level by gamma-ray spectrometry.

210Pb activity concentrations in the air of Palermo were determined by gamma-ray spectrometric analysis of 323 particulate samples collected in the period September 1995-December 1996. For each sample, the air filtered through a cellulose filter paper was 8600 m3 on average. The values of the daily activity concentration of 210Pb were ranging from 136 to 3390 microBq/m3.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed1999

Determination of 129I in atmospheric samples by accelerator mass spectrometry.

A method for the radiochemical extraction of 129I from atmospheric charcoal filters and its measurement by accelerator mass spectrometry is presented. Either the 129I concentration or the 129I/127I atom ratio can be determined in the sample. With this method, air filters from Seville, in the Southwest of Spain (37.4 degrees N, 6 degrees W) have been analyzed. Sensitivities in the order of 10(4) atoms/m3 for 129I concentrations and 10(-10) for 129I/127I atom ratios are obtained. AMS measurements are performed with the 6 MV tandem accelerator at the ETH-Hönggerberg in Zurich.

Air Pollution, Radioactive↗
PubMed1999

A new technique for processing airborne gamma ray spectrometry data for mapping low level contaminations.

A new technique for processing airborne gamma ray spectrometry data has been developed. It is based on the noise adjusted singular value decomposition method introduced by Hovgaard in 1997. The new technique opens for mapping of very low contamination levels. It is tested with data from Latvia where the remaining contamination from the 1986 Chernobyl accident together with fallout from the atmospheric nuclear weapon tests includes 137Cs at levels often well below 1 kBq/m2 equivalent surface contamination. The limiting factors for obtaining reliable results are radon in the air, spectrum stability and accurate altitude measurements.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed1999

Alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis and human biomonitoring for genotoxicity: a study on subjects with residential exposure to radon.

Based on theoretical estimates and various correlation studies, it has been suggested that ingestion of radon in drinking water represents an increased risk for cancer. Such a risk has never been conclusively shown in epidemiological or experimental animal studies, however, and it has been questioned whether the radon level in the drinking water is of any significance in terms of overall radon exposure. Using primary DNA damage as a biological marker for an ongoing exposure to ionising radiation, the present study was undertaken to investigate whether people with different types of residential radon exposures differed with regard to their levels of DNA damage in circulating lymphocytes. DNA damage was measured in coded blood samples from 125 residents living in 45 households with different levels of radon-222 in the drinking water (10-2410 Bq/l) and indoor air (35-1025 Bq/m3) using alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (the 'Comet' assay). Increased levels of radon in indoor air (>200 Bq/m3) were found to be associated with an increased level of DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes (P</=0.05). No such correlation was seen for the radon concentrations in the drinking water, and there was no obvious relationship between the radon levels in drinking water and in indoor air. The results of the present study suggest that measures taken to reduce residential radon exposures should be focused on reducing radon levels in indoor air rather than minimising radon levels in drinking water.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Chromosomal aberrations and sister-chromatid exchanges in Lithuanian populations: effects of occupational and environmental exposures.

Cytogenetic analysis of chromosomal aberrations (CA) in 175,229 cells from 1113 individuals, both unexposed and occupationally or environmentally exposed to heavy metals (mercury and lead), organic (styrene, formaldehyde, phenol and benzo(a)pyrene) and inorganic (sulfur and nitrogen oxides, hydrogen and ammonium fluorides) volatile substances and/or ionizing radiation was performed. In addition, 11,250 cells from 225 individuals were scored for the frequency of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCE). Increased frequencies of CA were found in all occupationally exposed groups. A principal difference between the exposure to heavy metals and organic substances was found: increase in the CA frequency was dependent on duration of exposure to mercury but not dependent on duration of exposure to styrene, formaldehyde and phenol. A higher CA incidence was found in lymphocytes of children living in the vicinity of a plant manufacturing phosphate fertilizers. This indicates that children are a sensitive study group for the assessment of environmental exposure. However, the results of SCE analysis in these children were inconclusive. Exposure to ionizing radiation was found to cause chromosome breaks and chromatid exchanges in Chernobyl clean-up workers and chromatid breaks, chromatid exchanges, dicentric chromosomes and chromosome translocations in workers from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The increased frequency of chromatid exchanges in individuals exposed to ionizing radiation was quite unexpected. This may be attributed to the action of some unrecognized life-style or occupational factors, or to be a result of radiation-induced genomic instability. Also an increased SCE frequency was found in lymphocytes of Chernobyl clean-up workers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Chernobyl-related ionising radiation exposure and cancer risk: an epidemiological review.

The Chernobyl nuclear accident on 26th April, 1986, led to a massive release of radionuclides into the environment. Although vast areas of Europe were affected by Chernobyl-related ionising radiation, the accident had the greatest impact in Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. Epidemiological studies that have investigated the link between the Chernobyl accident and cancer have largely focused on malignant diseases in children, specifically thyroid cancer and leukaemia. There is good evidence to suggest that rates of thyroid cancer in children from the countries that were formally part of the Soviet Union have risen as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident. The findings for childhood leukaemia are less conclusive. Overall rates for this disease do not seem to have been affected by the Chernobyl-related ionising radiation, but there may be a larger risk of infant leukaemia in contaminated areas of Europe. Among adult populations, there is no strong evidence to suggest that risk of thyroid cancer, leukaemia, or other malignant disease has increased as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

Adult↗