An increase of health problems has been reported in the city of Triunfo, Paraíba, NE Brazil. This pattern has been attributed to environmental radiation since there are uranium deposits in the neighboring municipalities. The present study aimed to carry a radiometric survey in Triunfo to determine effective dose from external outdoor radiation exposure. The results were obtained through 'in situ' measurements using a gamma spectrometry system. The results ranged from 0.06 to 0.38 mSv/y, mean of 0.20 mSv/y. Due to the low value of the effective dose rate, we concluded that the area is characterized by low background radiation. Therefore, natural radioactivity is probably not directly influencing the increase in cancer incidence in the region. However, there is a need for complementary studies in this area to evaluate the dose from potential exposure to ingested and inhaled natural radionuclides from natural radioactivity in soil, rocks, vegetation and water.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncx082 | DOI Listing |
Environ Pollut
December 2024
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E Green St, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Releases of coal combustion and nuclear fission wastes create contaminated landscapes that pose long-term management challenges. Efforts to facilitate the natural attenuation of legacy wastes in the environment can provide attractive habitat for passerine birds. Passerines have diverse foraging and nesting behaviors that lead to heterogenous contaminant exposure, yet few studies investigate contaminant uptake in passerines on a community scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
In China, due to the risks of hypothyroidism after radioiodine treatment, radioiodine is not commonly used as a first-line treatment. In this study, factors influencing the development of hypothyroidism after I therapy for Graves' hyperthyroidism were evaluated. This was a retrospective study with a 12-month follow-up.
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December 2024
Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8564, Aomori, Japan.
Radon (Rn) and thoron (Rn) were reported as the highest contributors to natural radiation received by humans. Furthermore, radon has been stated as the second-highest cause of lung cancer. The concentrations of U and Th (the parent nuclide of radon and thoron, respectively) in nature vary with geological conditions and can be enhanced by human activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
December 2024
Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America.
Environmental contamination can have lasting impacts on surrounding communities, though the long-term impacts can be difficult to ascertain. The disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 and subsequent remediation efforts resulted in contamination of the local environment with radioactive material, heavy metals, and additional environmental toxicants. Many of these are mutagenic in nature, and the full effect of these exposures on local flora and fauna has yet to be understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Monit Assess
December 2024
School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, University of Ghana, Atomic Campus, P.O. Box LG 80 Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Excavation of terrestrial surface of the Earth could enhance the chance of exposure to radon while gases in the underground get access to escape. This study was aimed to assess the level of radon concentration from soil samples of quarrying sites at Hakim Gara in Ethiopia using CR-39 detectors in sealed container technique. The results of the measured radon concentration level were ranging from 164.
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