Radiation exposure case management after incorporation of radionuclides.

The release of radioactive material due to accidents or terroristic actions can result in radioactive contamination of the environment and may lead to intake and incorporation of radionuclides with the consequence of prolonged radiation exposure. In this case, a decision about countermeasures must be carried out as soon as possible to reduce the resulting radiation dose. In order to be prepared for such a scenario, an Assessment and Documentation System has been developed to support the rapid assessment of internal exposures and to assist in decision making.

Facing the nuclear threat: thyroid blocking revisited.

Context: People being exposed to potentially harmful amounts of radioactive iodine need prophylaxis to prevent high radiation-absorbed doses to the thyroid.

Objective: Parameters determining the individual protective effect of a pharmacological intervention were investigated.

Design And Participants: Biokinetics of (123)I was evaluated in 27 healthy volunteers (aged 22-46 yr, median 25 yr, in total 48 assessments) twice in a baseline measurement of the undisturbed kinetics and in an intervention assessment 48 h later.

Reconstruction of radiation doses in a case-control study of thyroid cancer following the Chernobyl accident.

A population-based case-control study of thyroid cancer was carried out in contaminated regions of Belarus and Russia among persons who were exposed during childhood and adolescence to fallout from the Chernobyl accident. For each study subject, individual thyroid doses were reconstructed for the following pathways of exposure: (1) intake of 131I via inhalation and ingestion; (2) intake of short-lived radioiodines (132I, 133I, and 135I) and radiotelluriums (131mTe, 132Te) via inhalation and ingestion; (3) external dose from radionuclides deposited on the ground; and (4) ingestion of 134Cs and 137Cs. A series of intercomparison exercises validated the models used for reconstruction of average doses to populations of specific age groups as well as of individual doses.

Risk of thyroid cancer after exposure to 131I in childhood.

Background: After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in April 1986, a large increase in the incidence of childhood thyroid cancer was reported in contaminated areas. Most of the radiation exposure to the thyroid was from iodine isotopes, especially 131I. We carried out a population-based case-control study of thyroid cancer in Belarus and the Russian Federation to evaluate the risk of thyroid cancer after exposure to radioactive iodine in childhood and to investigate environmental and host factors that may modify this risk.