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Minenko V, Viarenich K, Zhukova O, Kukhta T, Podgaiskaya M, Khrutchinsky A, Kutsen S, Bouville A, Drozdovitch V. Activity concentrations of 131I and other radionuclides in cow's milk in Belarus during the first month following the Chernobyl accident. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2020; 220-221:106264. [PMID: 32658640 PMCID: PMC9443672 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2020.106264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) in Ukraine on April 26, 1986 led to a considerable release of radioactive material resulting in environmental contamination over vast areas of Belarus, Ukraine and western Russian Federation. The major health effect of the Chernobyl accident was an increase in thyroid cancer incidence in people exposed as children and adolescents, so much attention was paid to the thyroid doses resulting from intakes of 131I. Because cow's milk consumption was the main source of 131I intake by people, it was important to measure the 131I activity concentrations in cow's milk to calculate, or to validate, the thyroid doses to the exposed population. Almost 11,000 measurements of total beta-activity in cow's milk were performed using a DP-100 device during the first month after the Chernobyl accident in the most contaminated regions of Belarus. Using an ecological model and calibration coefficients for the DP-100 device the activity concentration of 131I in cow's milk was derived as well as the activity concentrations of the other radiologically important radionuclides, namely 134Cs, 137Cs, 89Sr and 90Sr. The activity concentrations of other radionuclides, such as 90Y, 132Te, 132I, 133I, 136Cs, 140Ba, 140La, 141Ce and 144Ce, in cow's milk were also estimated and were shown to be of minor importance. The concentrations of 95Zr, 95Nb, 103Ru and 106Ru in cow's milk were negligible. The data obtained in this study were validated by comparing derived 131I and 137Cs concentrations in cow's milk with gamma-spectrometry measurements performed in milk produced in the same location close to the same date. The results of this study were essential to assess and validate the radiation doses received by the subjects of epidemiological studies related to the health consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Minenko
- Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, Minsk, 220006, Belarus
| | - Kiryl Viarenich
- Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, Minsk, 220006, Belarus
| | - Olga Zhukova
- Republican Center of Radiation Control and Environmental Monitoring, 110A Nezalezhnasti Avenue, Minsk, 220023, Belarus
| | - Tatiana Kukhta
- United Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 6 Surganova Street, Minsk, 220012, Belarus
| | - Marina Podgaiskaya
- Republican Center of Radiation Control and Environmental Monitoring, 110A Nezalezhnasti Avenue, Minsk, 220023, Belarus
| | - Arkady Khrutchinsky
- Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, Minsk, 220006, Belarus
| | - Semion Kutsen
- Institute for Nuclear Problems, Belarusian State University, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, Minsk, 220006, Belarus
| | | | - Vladimir Drozdovitch
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, 9609 Medical Center Drive, MSC 9778, Bethesda, MD, 20892-9778, USA.
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Suric Mihic M, Beslic I, Davila S, Marovic G, Pavelić L, Sencar J. ESTIMATION OF AIRBORNE 106RU ACTIVITY CONCENTRATION FROM TOTAL BETA ACTIVITY OF PM10 PARTICLE FRACTIONS. RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY 2020; 189:497-504. [PMID: 32462197 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncaa067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Airborne radioruthenium, as a result of an accidental release, presents a risk for occupational and public exposure. In fall 2017, a detection of 106Ru was reported by the European atmospheric radioactive contamination monitoring networks. We investigated the daily specific total beta activity of PM10 particle fractions samples. The presented method enables indirect determination of airborne 106Ru activity concentration from total beta activity, in case 106Ru was confirmed as single excess radiological pollutant. This allows for daily measurements and time-resolved 106Ru activity concentration data. We estimated the indicative committed effective dose due to 106Ru inhalation for the Croatian population during the exposure period. Although the estimated dose value of ~169.7 nSv, for ~6-d duration of ruthenium air pollution, was very low, it was ~40 times higher than the value for Hinh from inhalation of other radionuclides (90Sr + 137Cs + 40K + 7Be).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Suric Mihic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivan Beslic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Silvije Davila
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Gordana Marovic
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Luka Pavelić
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jasminka Sencar
- Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Drozdovitch V. Radiation Exposure to the Thyroid After the Chernobyl Accident. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020; 11:569041. [PMID: 33469445 PMCID: PMC7813882 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2020.569041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The Chernobyl accident resulted in a considerable release of radioactivity to the atmosphere, particularly of Iodine-131 (131I), with the greatest contamination occurring in Belarus, Ukraine, and western part of Russia. MATERIAL AND METHODS Increase in thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases incidence in population exposed to Chernobyl fallout in these counties was the major health effect of the accident. Therefore, a lot of attention was paid to the thyroid doses, mainly, the 131I intake during two months after the accident. This paper reviews thyroid doses, both the individual for the subjects of radiation epidemiological studies and population-average doses. Exposure to 131I intake and other exposure pathways to population of affected regions and the Chernobyl cleanup workers (liquidators) are considered. RESULTS Individual thyroid doses due to 131I intake varied up to 42 Gy and depended on the age of the person, the region where a person was exposed, and their cow's milk consumption habits. Population-average thyroid doses among children of youngest age reached up to 0.75 Gy in the most contaminated area, the Gomel Oblast, in Belarus. Intake of 131I was the main pathway of exposure to the thyroid gland; its mean contribution to the thyroid dose in affected regions was more than 90%. The mean thyroid dose from inhalation of 131I for early Chernobyl cleanup workers was estimated to be 0.18 Gy. Individual thyroid doses due to different exposure pathways varied among 1,137 cleanup workers included in the epidemiological studies up to 9 Gy. Uncertainties associated with dose estimates, in terms of mean geometric standard deviation of individual stochastic doses, varied in range from 1.6 for doses based on individual-radiation measurements to 2.6 for "modelled" doses. CONCLUSION The 131I was the most radiologically important radionuclide that resulted in radiation exposure to the thyroid gland and cause an increase in the of rate of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in population exposed after the Chernobyl accident.
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Drozdovitch V, Chumak V, Kesminiene A, Ostroumova E, Bouville A. Doses for post-Chernobyl epidemiological studies: are they reliable? JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION : OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION 2016; 36:R36-R73. [PMID: 27355439 PMCID: PMC9426290 DOI: 10.1088/0952-4746/36/3/r36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
On 26 April 2016, thirty years will have elapsed since the occurrence of the Chernobyl accident, which has so far been the most severe in the history of the nuclear reactor industry. Numerous epidemiological studies were conducted to evaluate the possible health consequences of the accident. Since the credibility of the association between the radiation exposure and health outcome is highly dependent on the adequacy of the dosimetric quantities used in these studies, this paper makes an effort to overview the methods used to estimate individual doses and the associated uncertainties in the main analytical epidemiological studies (i.e. cohort or case-control) related to the Chernobyl accident. Based on the thorough analysis and comparison with other radiation studies, the authors conclude that individual doses for the Chernobyl analytical epidemiological studies have been calculated with a relatively high degree of reliability and well-characterized uncertainties, and that they compare favorably with many other non-Chernobyl studies. The major strengths of the Chernobyl studies are: (1) they are grounded on a large number of measurements, either performed on humans or made in the environment; and (2) extensive effort has been invested to evaluate the uncertainties associated with the dose estimates. Nevertheless, gaps in the methodology are identified and suggestions for the possible improvement of the current dose estimates are made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Drozdovitch
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Vadim Chumak
- National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | | | - André Bouville
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Retired
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Drozdovitch V, Minenko V, Khrouch V, Leshcheva S, Gavrilin Y, Khrutchinsky A, Kukhta T, Kutsen S, Luckyanov N, Shinkarev S, Tretyakevich S, Trofimik S, Voillequé P, Bouville A. Thyroid dose estimates for a cohort of Belarusian children exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident. Radiat Res 2013; 179:597-609. [PMID: 23560632 DOI: 10.1667/rr3153.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The U.S. National Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Belarusian Ministry of Health, is conducting a study of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in a cohort of about 12,000 persons who were exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. The study subjects were 18 years old or younger at the time of exposure and resided in Belarus in the most contaminated areas of the Gomel and Mogilev Oblasts, as well as in the city of Minsk. All cohort members had at least one direct thyroid measurement made in April-June 1986. Individual data on residential history, consumption of milk, milk products and leafy vegetables as well as administration of stable iodine were collected for all cohort members by means of personal interviews conducted between 1996 and 2007. Based on the estimated (131)I activities in the thyroids, which were derived from the direct thyroid measurements, and on the responses to the questionnaires, individual thyroid doses from intakes of (131)I were reconstructed for all cohort members. In addition, radiation doses to the thyroid were estimated for the following minor exposure pathways: (a) intake of short-lived (132)I, (133)I and (132)Te by inhalation and ingestion; (b) external irradiation from radionuclides deposited on the ground; and (c) ingestion intake of (134)Cs and (137)Cs. Intake of (131)I was the major pathway for thyroid exposure; its mean contribution to the thyroid dose was 92%. The thyroid doses from (131)I intakes varied from 0.5 mGy to almost 33 Gy; the mean was estimated to be 0.58 Gy, while the median was 0.23 Gy. The reconstructed doses are being used to evaluate the risk of thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases in the cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Drozdovitch
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
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Drozdovitch V, Zhukova O, Germenchuk M, Khrutchinsky A, Kukhta T, Luckyanov N, Minenko V, Podgaiskaya M, Savkin M, Vakulovsky S, Voillequé P, Bouville A. Database of meteorological and radiation measurements made in Belarus during the first three months following the Chernobyl accident. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2013; 116:84-92. [PMID: 23103580 PMCID: PMC3519970 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2012] [Revised: 09/20/2012] [Accepted: 09/24/2012] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Results of all available meteorological and radiation measurements that were performed in Belarus during the first three months after the Chernobyl accident were collected from various sources and incorporated into a single database. Meteorological information such as precipitation, wind speed and direction, and temperature in localities were obtained from meteorological station facilities. Radiation measurements include gamma-exposure rate in air, daily fallout, concentration of different radionuclides in soil, grass, cow's milk and water as well as total beta-activity in cow's milk. Considerable efforts were made to evaluate the reliability of the measurements that were collected. The electronic database can be searched according to type of measurement, date, and location. The main purpose of the database is to provide reliable data that can be used in the reconstruction of thyroid doses resulting from the Chernobyl accident.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Drozdovitch
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, 6120 Executive Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20892-7238, USA.
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Khrutchinsky A, Kutsen S, Minenko V, Zhukova O, Luckyanov N, Bouville A, Drozdovitch V. Monte Carlo modeling of beta-radiometer device used to measure milk contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident. Appl Radiat Isot 2009; 67:1089-93. [PMID: 19233662 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.01.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2007] [Revised: 01/15/2009] [Accepted: 01/15/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents results of Monte Carlo modeling of the beta-radiometer device with Geiger-Mueller detector used in Belarus and Russia to measure the radioactive contamination of milk after the Chernobyl accident. This type of detector, which is not energy selective, measured the total beta-activity of the radionuclide mix. A mathematical model of the beta-radiometer device, namely DP-100, was developed, and the calibration factors for the different radionuclides that might contribute to the milk contamination were calculated. The estimated calibration factors for (131)I, (137)Cs, (134)Cs, (90)Sr, (144)Ce, and (106)Ru reasonably agree with calibration factors determined experimentally. The calculated calibration factors for (132)Te, (132)I, (133)I, (136)Cs, (89)Sr, (103)Ru, (140)Ba, (140)La, and (141)Ce had not been previously determined experimentally. The obtained results allow to derive the activity of specific radionuclides, in particular (131)I, from the results of the total beta-activity measurements in milk. Results of this study are important for the purposes of retrospective dosimetry that uses measurements of radioactivity in environmental samples performed with beta-radiometer devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Khrutchinsky
- Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, 11 Bobruiskaya Street, Minsk 220050, Belarus
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