Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiological Studies among Ukrainian Chernobyl Cleanup Workers.

The present paper provides an overview of the methods and summarizes the results of estimating radiation doses and their uncertainties for Ukrainian-American epidemiological studies among the Chernobyl (Chornobyl) cleanup workers. After the Chernobyl accident occurred on April 26, 1986, more than 300,000 Ukrainian cleanup workers took part between 1986 and 1990 in decontamination and recovery activities at the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The U.

EURADOS project on the impact of the proposed ICRU operational dose quantities.

Following the publication of the joint The International Commissions on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and on Radiological Protection (ICRP) report on new operational quantities for radiation protection, the European Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) have carried out an initial evaluation. The EURADOS report analyses the impact that the new quantities will have on: radiation protection practice; calibration and reference fields; European and national regulation; international standards and, especially, dosemeter and instrument design. The task group included experienced scientists drawn from across the various EURADOS working groups.

Experimental and Monte Carlo study of energy response of BEO-based OSL detectors within photon energy range up to 15 MeV.

Response of personal dosemeters to high energy photon radiation is of great interest nowadays due to a spread of new radiation technologies and the expansion of occupational exposure domains. ICRU95 publication has expanded the range of relevant photon energies upwards, setting new horizons for individual monitoring. Beryllium oxide (BeO) material is increasingly popular due to its excellent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) properties, simple readout and reasonable energy response in the low energy (below 100 keV) range.

Experimental validation of energy dependences of YALO3:Mn TL detectors: irradiation to ISO radiation qualities.

The effect of application of filters, made of different materials and various thickness, is studied by Monte Carlo calculations using MCNP6.2 code. The calculated data were validated by experimental studies (benchmark tests).

Reliability of Questionnaire-Based Dose Reconstruction: Human Factor Uncertainties in the Radiation Dosimetry of Chernobyl Cleanup Workers.

This original study aims to quantify the human factor uncertainties in radiation doses for Chernobyl cleanup workers that are associated with errors in direct or proxy personal interviews due to poor memory recall a long time after exposure. Two types of doses due to external irradiation during cleanup mission were calculated independently. First, a "reference" dose, that was calculated using the historical description of cleanup activities reported by 47 cleanup workers shortly after the completion of the cleanup mission.

Impact of uncertainties in exposure assessment on thyroid cancer risk among cleanup workers in Ukraine exposed due to the Chornobyl accident.

A large excess risk of thyroid cancer was observed among Belarusian/Russian/Baltic Chornobyl cleanup workers. A more recent study of Ukraine cleanup workers found more modest excess risks of thyroid cancer. Dose errors in this data are substantial, associated with model uncertainties and questionnaire response.

Lack of transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident.

Effects of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear accident remain a topic of interest. We investigated germline de novo mutations (DNMs) in children born to parents employed as cleanup workers or exposed to occupational and environmental ionizing radiation after the accident. Whole-genome sequencing of 130 children (born 1987-2002) and their parents did not reveal an increase in the rates, distributions, or types of DNMs relative to the results of previous studies.

Estimation of radiation gonadal doses for the American-Ukrainian trio study of parental irradiation in Chornobyl cleanup workers and evacuees and germline mutations in their offspring.

Radiation doses of parents exposed from the Chornobyl accident as cleanup workers or evacuees were estimated in the National Cancer Institute-National Research Center for Radiation Medicine trio (i.e. father, mother, offspring) study aimed at investigating the radiation effects on germlinemutations in children as well as other outcomes.

Absorbed dose in the operator's brain in interventional radiology practices: evaluation through KAP value conversion factors.

In order to address the recent concerns over a possible increasing in brain tumour mortality among interventional radiologists and cardiologist, this work evaluated the exposure conditions of the operator's brain during interventional procedures using Monte Carlo simulations with anthropomorphic phantoms. The absorbed doses in several predefined segments of the operator's brain were estimated in a typical interventional radiology irradiation scenario. The doses were normalized to the KAP values simulated for ten X-ray beam qualities and four projections (PA, RAO 25°, LAO 25° and CRA 25°).

Field Study of the Possible Effect of Parental Irradiation on the Germline of Children Born to Cleanup Workers and Evacuees of the Chornobyl Nuclear Accident.

Although transgenerational effects of exposure to ionizing radiation have long been a concern, human research to date has been confined to studies of disease phenotypes in groups exposed to high doses and high dose rates, such as the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. Transgenerational effects of parental irradiation can be addressed using powerful new genomic technologies. In collaboration with the Ukrainian National Research Center for Radiation Medicine, the US National Cancer Institute, in 2014-2018, initiated a genomic alterations study among children born in selected regions of Ukraine to cleanup workers and/or evacuees exposed to low-dose-rate radiation after the 1986 Chornobyl (Chernobyl) nuclear accident.

Estimation of Radiation Doses for a Case-control Study of Thyroid Cancer Among Ukrainian Chernobyl Cleanup Workers.

Thyroid doses were estimated for 607 subjects of a case-control study of thyroid cancer nested in the cohort of 150,813 male Ukrainian cleanup workers who were exposed to radiation as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Individual thyroid doses due to external irradiation, inhalation of I and short-lived radioiodine and radiotellurium isotopes (I, I, I, Te, and Te) during the cleanup mission, and intake of I during residence in contaminated settlements were calculated for all study subjects, along with associated uncertainty distributions. The average thyroid dose due to all exposure pathways combined was estimated to be 199 mGy (median: 47 mGy; range: 0.

Cancers after Chornobyl: From Epidemiology to Molecular Quantification.

An overview and new data are presented from cancer studies of the most exposed groups of the population after the Chornobyl accident, performed at the National Research Center for Radiation Medicine (NRCRM). Incidence rates of solid cancers were analyzed for the 1990-2016 period in cleanup workers, evacuees, and the general population from the contaminated areas. In male cleanup workers, the significant increase in rates was demonstrated for cancers in total, leukemia, lymphoma, and thyroid cancer, as well as breast cancer rates were increased in females.

Simulation of H (10) and effective dose received by the medical staff in interventional radiology procedures.

Interventional radiology and cardiology are widespread employed techniques for diagnosis and treatment of several pathologies because they avoid the majority of the side-effects associated with surgical treatments, but are known to increase the radiation exposure to patient and operators. In recent years many studies treated the exposure of the operators performing cardiological procedures. The aim of this work is to study the exposure condition of the medical staff in some selected interventional radiology procedures.

A genomic copy number signature predicts radiation exposure in post-Chernobyl breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide and besides life style, age and genetic risk factors, exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the risk for breast cancer. Further, DNA copy number alterations (CNAs), which can result from radiation-induced double-strand breaks, are frequently occurring in breast cancer cells. We set out to identify a signature of CNAs discriminating breast cancers from radiation-exposed and non-exposed female patients.

Doses of Ukrainian female clean-up workers with diagnosed breast cancer.

The Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986 has caused significant exposure to ionizing radiation of the Ukrainian population, in particular clean-up workers and evacuees from the exclusion zones. A study aiming at the discovery of radiation markers of the breast cancer was conducted from 2008 to 2015 within a collaborative project by HZM, LMU, and NRCRM. In this study, post-Chernobyl breast cancer cases both in radiation-exposed female patients diagnosed at age less than 60 from 1992 to 2014 and in non-exposed controls matched for residency, tumor type, age at diagnosis, TNM classification as well as tumor grading were investigated for molecular changes with special emphasis to copy number alterations and miRNA profiles.

Expression of miRNA-26b-5p and its target TRPS1 is associated with radiation exposure in post-Chernobyl breast cancer.

Ionizing radiation is a well-recognized risk factor for the development of breast cancer. However, it is unknown whether radiation-specific molecular oncogenic mechanisms exist. We investigated post-Chernobyl breast cancers from radiation-exposed female clean-up workers and nonexposed controls for molecular changes.

Incidence of multiple myeloma among cleanup workers of the Chornobyl accident and their survival.

Unlabelled: The study presents the updated data on the multiple myeloma (MM) incidence in Ukrainian cleanup workers after the Chornobyl accident and their survival. The epidemiological analysis is based on the extended follow-up period to identify new MM cases for higher statistical power and to collect additional data on the disease course and outcome for the survival analysis. The objective of the study was to analyze the MM incidence and survival in Chornobyl cleanup workers in 1996-2013 in comparison with the national MM statistical data.

A Review of Radiation Protection Requirements and Dose Estimation for Staff and Patients in CT Fluoroscopy.

The combination of fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures with computed tomography (CTF) has become widespread around the world. The benefits of CTF include the ability to obtain a real-time visualization of the entire body, increased target accuracy and improved visualization of biopsy needles. Modern CTF units work with variable frame rates for image selection, and therefore the dose distributions for patients and staff can considerably vary, creating growing concern in terms of the occupational exposure of interventionists and the drawback of a higher exposure of the patient.

STUDY OF DOSES TO HIPPOCAMPUS OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGISTS AND THEIR IMPLICATION FOR DOSIMETRIC MONITORING.

Dosimetric monitoring and protection of the personnel involved into interventional procedures is one of the key issues nowadays, yet doses received by their brains were left without rigorous consideration so far. The paper is the fast track of the results of the pilot study of possible magnitude of operator's doses with particular focus on difference between doses in left and right hippocampi and their relation to effective doses of personnel using protective aprons. Monte Carlo simulation of irradiation in a typical interventional cardiology (IC) operation room shows that for standard C-arm angulations difference in doses between left and right hippocampi can be as large as 5-fold (depending on energy and projection), under certain conditions dose to left (most exposed) hippocampus can be up to two times higher than effective dose estimated by a common double dosimetry algorithm.

Problems following hippocampal irradiation in interventional radiologists - doses and potential effects: a Monte Carlo simulation.

Objective: This study aimed at investigating radiation exposure of hippocampus in interventional medical profes sionals irradiated in the operating room, and to compare doses in the hippocampus with the effective dose (protec tion quantity), as well as with the doses measured by individual dosimeter, in order to estimate probability of reach ing levels of radiation induced cognitive and other neuropsychiatric alterations during their working career, through a Monte Carlo simulation.

Materials And Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation of hippocampal exposure was used by means of a hybrid voxel mathematical phantom of a doctor irradiated in typical angiographic projections and energy spectra inherent to interventional cardiology procedures.

Results: The results showed that cranial irradiation was very heterogeneous and depended on the projection: doses of left and right hippocampi may be different up to a factor of 2.

Dosimetry Support of the Ukrainian-American Case-control Study of Leukemia and Related Disorders Among Chornobyl Cleanup Workers.

This paper describes dose reconstruction for a joint Ukrainian-American case-control study of leukemia that was conducted in a cohort of 110,645 male Ukrainian cleanup workers of the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) accident who were exposed to various radiation doses over the 1986-1990 time period. Individual bone-marrow doses due to external irradiation along with respective uncertainty distributions were calculated for 1,000 study subjects using the RADRUE method, which employed personal cleanup history data collected in the course of an interview with the subject himself if he was alive or with two proxies if he was deceased. The central estimates of the bone-marrow dose distributions range from 3.