Intercomparison of whole-body counters by using a subject who had incorporated 137Cs into the body.

During the years 1996-2000, eight whole-body counting facilities (WBC) from Finland, Germany, Japan and Russia took part in an intercomparison using a resident of the Russian town of Novozybkov who had been seriously contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident. The subject R (adult male, height 172 cm average body mass 64 kg; and 137Cs body burden within the range of 1-15 kBq) was investigated in the participating institutions during his business trips. The experimentally obtained data for his 137Cs body burden were compared with the predicted values, which had been deduced from the measurements of subject R using the reference WBC (St Petersburg Institute of Radiation Hygiene) and from his effective half-time of 137Cs in the body (68 days).

Sampling and evaluation of specific absorption rates during patient examinations performed on 1.5-Tesla MR systems.

It was the purpose of present study, to evaluate a large number of exposure-time courses measured during patient examinations in clinical routine in relation to the current IEC standard and the draft version of the revised standard and, moreover, to investigate whether there is a correlation between the subjective heat perception of the patients during the MR examination and the intensity of RF power deposition. To this end, radiofrequency exposure to 591 patients undergoing MR examinations performed on 1.5-Tesla MR systems was monitored in five clinics and evaluated in accordance with both IEC standards.

Contribution of different foodstuffs to the internal exposure of rural inhabitants in Russia after the Chernobyl accident.

In a large village, Veprin of the Bryansk region of Russia contaminated with radionuclides as a result of the Chernobyl accident, 137Cs concentration in food products of agricultural produce and natural origin was regularly measured, local inhabitants were polled on the composition of their diet, and the 137Cs content in their bodies was measured at the same time. These results were used as the basis for calculation of annual effective doses of internal exposure to inhabitants and for reconstruction of the dose during the entire period after the accident (1986-1996). The efficiency of countermeasures performed for reduction of the internal dose was assessed.

Analysis of FISH-painted chromosomes in individuals living near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (STS) is located in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A total of 498 nuclear weapons tests were conducted in this area between 1949 and 1989. The radiation exposure to people who lived close to the STS resulted mostly from the above-ground explosions.

A Nordic survey of patient doses in diagnostic radiology.

The aim of this study was to test the applicability of the guidance levels for patient doses cooperatively set by the radiation protection authorities in the five Nordic countries. The kerma-area product (KAP) for five conventional radiological examination types was obtained from several hospitals in each of the Nordic countries. The number of radiographic images and fluoroscopy time were also registered, and the mean values for each examination type and hospital were established based on a representative number of patients (40-100 kg).

Classification of signal-time curves from dynamic MR mammography by neural networks.

The aim of this study was to test the performance of artificial neural networks for the classification of signal-time curves obtained from breast masses by dynamic MRI. Signal-time courses from 105 parenchyma, 162 malignant, and 102 benign tissue regions were examined. The latter two groups were histopathologically verified.

Combined effect of radiation and other agents: is there a synergism trap?

Most assessments of possible deleterious outcomes from environmental and occupational exposures concentrate on single agents and neglect the potential for combined effects--that is, synergisms or antagonisms. Biomechanistic considerations based on multistep processes, such as carcinogenesis, indicate the potential for highly detrimental interactions if two or more consecutive rate-limiting steps are specifically effected by different agents. However, low specificity toward molecular structure or DNA sequence--and, therefore, exchangeability--of many genotoxic agents indicate little functional specificity and, hence, little vulnerability toward synergism in most occupational and environmental exposure situations.

Involvement of specific chromosomes in radiation-induced rearrangements detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

We investigated the involvement of chromosomes in dicentrics and translocations in human peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed to X-rays in vitro. Chromosomes 2, 4, 8, 13, 15, 16, and 22 were analyzed in three cocktails of different combinations using whole chromosome probes (WCP) with the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-painting technique. The results showed overexpression of chromosomes 2, 8, and 22 in translocation, the majority being of the complete type.

Lung cancer in lifetime nonsmoking men - results of a case-control study in Germany.

Epidemiological studies of lung cancer among nonsmoking men are few. This case-control study was conducted among lifetime nonsmoking men between 1990 and 1996 in Germany to examine lung cancer risk in relation to occupation, environmental tobacco smoke, residential radon, family history of cancer and previous lung disease. A total of 58 male cases with confirmed primary lung cancer and 803 male population controls who had never smoked more than 400 cigarettes in their lifetime were personally interviewed by a standardized questionnaire.

Histopathologic findings of lung carcinoma in German uranium miners.

Background: This study evaluates the histopathology of lung carcinoma in relation to underground radon exposure.

Methods: Two hundred forty uranium miners of the former Wismut Company in Eastern Germany with histologically or cytologically confirmed primary lung carcinoma were recruited from 3 study clinics between 1991 and 1995. Information on smoking history was obtained by personal interviews, whereas job histories were derived from original payrolls provided by the Wismut Company.

Compartmentalization in environmental science and the perversion of multiple thresholds.

Nature and living organisms are separated into compartments. The self-assembly of phospholipid micelles was as fundamental to the emergence of life and evolution as the formation of DNA precursors and their self-replication. Also, modern science owes much of its success to the study of single compartments, the dissection of complex structures and event chains into smaller study objects which can be manipulated with a set of more and more sophisticated equipment.

Elastic matching of dynamic MR mammographic images.

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) carried out with paramagnetic contrast media has been proven to increase sensitivity and specificity in the detection of breast cancer. Due to movements of the patients and changes in the shape of the breasts during the measurement period, a coregistration (matching) of the acquired data volumes is necessary to obtain higher accuracy for the localization of lesions. In this study, an algorithm for the elastic matching of dynamic MRI volume data is presented.

Model validation for external doses due to environmental contaminations by the Chernobyl accident.

The objective of the present paper is to validate the deterministic JSP5 model for external exposures to population groups living in the areas contaminated with radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident. For this purpose inhabitants of contaminated areas wore TL-dosimeters for about 1 mo in the spring/summer periods of the years 1989 to 1994. External doses due to the Chernobyl accident were determined from the dosimeter readings by subtracting the natural background.

The German uranium miners cohort study: feasibility and first results.

In Germany, the largest single cohort study on uranium miners to date is being conducted. The cohort includes about 64,000 workers of the former Wismut company in eastern Germany. Inclusion criteria were: a date of employment between 1946 and 1989, a minimum period of employment of 180 days, and complete information on working history.

Environmental radioactivity, population exposure and related health risks in the east Baltic region.

The paper considers radioactive contamination of the east Baltic region, population exposures, and the risk of damage to human health. Principal sources include global fallout, the Chernobyl accident, and marine transport of radionuclides. A mean annual exposure of 2-3 mSv comes from environmental radioactivity.

Biochemical modulation of the catabolism and tissue uptake of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil by 5-bromovinyluracil: assessment with metabolic (19)F MR imaging.

Using chemical shift-selective (19)F magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, we investigated the biomodulating action of 5-bromovinyluracil (BVU) on the degradation of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to its major catabolite alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine (FBAL) and the tissue uptake of 5-FU in ACI rats with transplanted Morris hepatoma. Rats in the control group (n = 7) received 200 mg/kg body weight of 5-FU intravenously, whereas the rats in the BVU group (n = 7) additionally received 30 mg/kg body weight of BVU intraperitoneally about 45 min before 5-FU injection. In each animal examination, three selective (19)F MR images were acquired sequentially after 5-FU administration with an acquisition time of 32 min each: an early 5-FU image (dominant Fourier line, 8 min p.

Strategy for population protection and area rehabilitation in Russia in the remote period after the Chernobyl accident.

The report presents the history of the development of criteria for radiation and social protection of the Russian population residing in the areas contaminated with radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident, in the remote time periods after the accident. The tendencies for reduction of standards with time are shown, and their causes are analysed. It is noted that the optimization principle was not applied in the explicit form for population protection.

Health impacts of large releases of radionuclides. Internal exposure of populations to long-lived radionuclides released into the environment.

This chapter discusses the events that led to the contamination of environments with the long-lived radionuclides of caesium, strontium and other elements, and to the internal exposure of populations living in contaminated areas. Among these events are radioactive releases into the river Techa from the Soviet nuclear weapons facility Mayak in 1949-1956, thermonuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s, the Kyshtim and Windscale accidents in 1957, and the Chernobyl and Tomsk-7 accidents in 1986 and 1993, respectively. Methods of environmental monitoring and individual internal dose monitoring of inhabitants are described.

CaSO4:Dy and LiF:Mg, Cu, P thermoluminescent dosimeters for environmental monitoring in ambient areas of a nuclear power plant.

This paper describes CaSO4:Dy and LiF:Mg, Cu, P which were used for ambient environmental monitoring before the nuclear power plant operation in Guangdong Daya Bay, China, in 1991. Since LiF:Mg, Cu, P was first used as an environmental dosimeter in this laboratory, the intercomparison of both thermoluminescent dosimeters, including laboratory irradiation and environmental exposure in Beijing reference spots, was conducted in cooperation with National Institute of Metrology and Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene, measured values of both thermoluminescent dosimeters were in agreement with the error being less than +or- 2% for the laboratory irradiation. The results of measurement by both thermoluminescent dosimeters were quite in agreement with environmental reference exposure rates measured by a pressurized ionization chamber.

First attempts at validation of radiation exposure of the population along the Techa River, southern Urals.

A research programme sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety (BMU) was conducted during 1992 and 1993 in the Southern Urals, to provide an initial validation and comparison of results of population exposure arising from the release of radioactive waste from the MAYAK nuclear facility between the years 1948 and 1967. This programme included investigations of the contamination of the soil, of food (milk, drinking-water, potatoes) and whole-body-counter measurements of inhabitants of settlements at the Techa River. The nuclides of interest were plutonium isotopes and the long-lived fission products 137Cs and 90Sr.

Tritium radiobiological effects in mammals: review of experiments of the last decade in Russia.

This review briefly describes techniques and basic results of experimental investigations in mice and rats on metabolism, dosimetry, and radiobiological effects of tritium oxide and some tritiated biogenic compounds (glucose, amino acids, and nucleosides) during the last 10 to 15 years in Russia. The content of water in tissue cells of mammals is shown to be 15 to 40% less than in whole tissue. The kinetics of tritium incorporation from oxide (HTO) and its retention in DNA of hemopoietic tissues were studied.

Cancer and ionizing radiation.

The carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation are well documented at high doses and high dose rates. The Danish population has always been exposed to ionizing radiation from natural sources. In this century exposures from man-made sources especially in the medical field have added to the overall exposure of the population.

Bilirubin bound to cells does not form photoisomers.

Cultured cells from one human and one murine cell line were incubated with bilirubin by different methods that allowed bilirubin to be bound to cells. The cells were irradiated with visible light of different wavelengths. Bilirubin bound to human serum albumin was also irradiated with light.

Chernobyl fallout: internal doses to the Norwegian population and the effect of dietary advice.

Dietary studies and whole-body measurements were used to estimate the intake of radiocesium and the radiation dose received by different groups of people in Norway after the Chernobyl accident. Freshwater fish, milk, and reindeer meat were the major sources for radiocesium intake. Dietary advice, together with agricultural decontamination measures, resulted in a considerable reduction in the exposure level of the population.