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Martinez NE, Jokisch DW, Dauer LT, Eckerman KF, Goans RE, Brockman JD, Tolmachev SY, Avtandilashvili M, Mumma MT, Boice JD, Leggett RW. Radium dial workers: back to the future. Int J Radiat Biol 2021; 98:750-768. [PMID: 33900890 PMCID: PMC10563809 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1917785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This paper reviews the history of the radium dial workers in the United States, summarizes the scientific progress made since the last evaluation in the early 1990s, and discusses current progress in updating the epidemiologic cohort and applying new dosimetric models for radiation risk assessment. BACKGROUND The discoveries of radiation and radioactivity led quickly to medical and commercial applications at the turn of the 20th century, including the development of radioluminescent paint, made by combining radium with phosphorescent material and adhesive. Workers involved with the painting of dials and instruments included painters, handlers, ancillary workers, and chemists who fabricated the paint. Dial painters were primarily women and, prior to the mid to late 1920s, would use their lips to give the brush a fine point, resulting in high intakes of radium. The tragic experience of the dial painters had a significant impact on industrial safety standards, including protection measures taken during the Manhattan Project. The dial workers study has formed the basis for radiation protection standards for intakes of radionuclides by workers and the public. EPIDEMIOLOGIC APPROACH The mortality experience of 3,276 radium dial painters and handlers employed between 1913 and 1949 is being determined through 2019. The last epidemiologic follow-up was 30 years ago when most of these workers were still alive. Nearly 65% were born before 1920, 37.5% were teenagers when first hired, and nearly 50% were hired before 1930 when the habit of placing brushes in mouths essentially stopped. Comprehensive dose reconstruction techniques are being applied to estimate organ doses for each worker related to the intake of 226Ra, 228Ra, and associated photon exposures. Time dependent dose-response analyses will estimate lifetime risks for specific causes of death. DISCUSSION The study of radium dial workers is part of the Million Person Study of low-dose health effects that is designed to evaluate radiation risks among healthy American workers and veterans. Despite being one of the most important and influential radiation effects studies ever conducted, shifting programmatic responsibilities and declining funding led to the termination of the radium program of studies in the early 1990s. Renewed interest and opportunity have arisen. With scientific progress made in dosimetric methodology and models, the ability to perform a study over the entire life span, and the potential applicability to other scenarios such as medicine, environmental contamination and space exploration, the radium dial workers have once again come to the forefront.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E. Martinez
- Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
- Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Derek W. Jokisch
- Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- Department of Physics and Engineering, Francis Marion University, Florence, SC, USA
| | - Lawrence T. Dauer
- Department of Medical Physics and Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Keith F. Eckerman
- Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | | | - John D. Brockman
- Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Sergey Y. Tolmachev
- United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Maia Avtandilashvili
- United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Michael T. Mumma
- International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - John D. Boice
- Department of Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Richard W. Leggett
- Center for Radiation Protection Knowledge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
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Modric S, Martinez M. Patient variation in veterinary medicine--part II--influence of physiological variables. J Vet Pharmacol Ther 2010; 34:209-23. [PMID: 21083665 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.2010.01249.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
In veterinary medicine, the characterization of a drug's pharmacokinetic properties is generally based upon data that are derived from studies that employ small groups of young healthy animals, often of a single breed. In Part I of the series, we focused on the potential influence of disease processes, stress, pregnancy and lactation on drug pharmacokinetics. In this Part II of the series, we consider other covariates, such as gender, heritable traits, age, body composition, and circadian rhythms. The impact of these factors with respect to predicting the relationship between dose and drug exposure characteristics within an animal population is illustrated through the use of Monte Carlo simulations. Ultimately, an appreciation of these potential influences will improve the prediction of situations when dose adjustments may be appropriate.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Modric
- Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, MD 20855, USA
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Lyovkina YV, Miller SC, Romanov SA, Krahenbuhl MP, Belosokhov MV. Quantitative plutonium microdistribution in bone tissue of vertebra from a Mayak worker. HEALTH PHYSICS 2010; 99:464-470. [PMID: 20838087 PMCID: PMC2941237 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0b013e3181cb840f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to obtain quantitative data on plutonium microdistribution in different structural elements of human bone tissue for local dose assessment and dosimetric models validation. A sample of the thoracic vertebra was obtained from a former Mayak worker with a rather high plutonium burden. Additional information was obtained on occupational and exposure history, medical history, and measured plutonium content in organs. Plutonium was detected in bone sections from its fission tracks in polycarbonate film using neutron-induced autoradiography. Quantitative analysis of randomly selected microscopic fields on one of the autoradiographs was performed. Data included fission fragment tracks in different bone tissue and surface areas. Quantitative information on plutonium microdistribution in human bone tissue was obtained for the first time. From these data, the quantitative relationships of plutonium decays in bone volume to decays on bone surface in cortical and trabecular fractions were defined as 2.0 and 0.4, correspondingly. The measured quantitative relationship of decays in bone volume to decays on bone surface does not coincide with recommended models for the cortical bone fraction by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Biokinetic model parameters of extrapulmonary compartments might need to be adjusted after expansion of the data set on quantitative plutonium microdistribution in other bone types in humans as well as other cases with different exposure patterns and types of plutonium.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sergey A. Romanov
- Southern Ural Biophysics Institute, Ozyorsk, Chelabinsk Region, 456780, Russia;
| | | | - Maxim V. Belosokhov
- Southern Ural Biophysics Institute, Ozyorsk, Chelabinsk Region, 456780, Russia;
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Bijwaard H, Brugmans MJP, Leenhouts HP. Two-mutation models for bone cancer due to radium, strontium and plutonium. Radiat Res 2004; 162:171-84. [PMID: 15387145 DOI: 10.1667/rr3184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Data from beagle experiments and radium dial painters were used to derive two-mutation carcinogenesis models for bone cancer induced by the bone-seeking radionuclides radium, strontium and plutonium. For all data, the model fits indicate that at low doses both mutation rates depend linearly and equally strongly on dose rate. For the high-LET alpha-particle emitters, a cell killing term reduces the second mutation rate at high dose rates. In all cases, the combined effect of both mutation rates is a linear-quadratic dose-effect relationship for cancer at low doses. This behavior may lead to experimental data that could be mistaken as showing a threshold below which no cancers are induced. Derived parameters such as toxicity ratios and tumor growth times compare well with values reported in the literature. Furthermore, results for plutonium indicate that rapid burial of the nuclide in the growing bones of juvenile beagles leads to a significant reduction of its toxicity, as was suggested previously. The results for radium in beagles compare well with those for humans and suggest that the models derived for strontium and plutonium in beagles may be translated to humans. The significant model parameters for the accurate animal data could then also be used to fit human epidemiological data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harmen Bijwaard
- Laboratory for Radiation Research, RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
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Kastelle CR, Shelden KEW, Kimura DK. Age determination of mysticete whales using210Pb/226Ra disequilibria. CAN J ZOOL 2003. [DOI: 10.1139/z02-214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Accurate age determination is fundamental to the study of population structure and individual growth rates of mysticete whales. Here the disequilibrium between210Pb and226Ra in the tympanic bullae of two mysticete whale species was investigated for use as a chronometer. Radiometric ageing depends upon accumulation of the naturally occurring radionuclide226Ra (exclusive of other238U decay-chain members) in the bullae and subsequent retention of its progeny210Pb. Ages are determined from the210Pb/226Ra activity ratio. Samples were obtained from five gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) with lengths of 4.5 (a neonate), 7.8, 8.7, 10, and 11.5 m, and two bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) with lengths of 12.9 and 17.4 m. In gray whales, radiometric ages were estimated in the three largest whales. In the neonate, the210Pb/226Ra ratio was above one and was not usable. The 7.8-m gray whale was used to determine the initial210Pb/226Ra ratio required for age determination. We propose a theory of gray whale bullae growth starting at the fetal stage with an open system (with a210Pb/226Ra > 1 and a fast growth rate), which transitions by 1 year old to a closed system (with a210Pb/226Ra << 1 and a slow growth rate). In both bowhead whales, radiometric age could not be estimated because the210Pb/226Ra ratio was above one. The excess210Pb in these bullae samples was likely accumulated from the whales' environment via prey, or in the case of the neonate gray whale, across the placental boundary. Our results indicate that the underlying assumptions of the210Pb/226Ra radiometric ageing method may not hold true in bowhead whales. Successful application of this method to bowhead whales is therefore doubtful.
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Suslova KG, Khokhryakov VF, Tokarskaya ZB, Nifatov AP, Krahenbuhl MP, Miller SC. Extrapulmonary organ distribution of plutonium in healthy workers exposed by chronic inhalation at the Mayak production association. HEALTH PHYSICS 2002; 82:432-444. [PMID: 11906132 DOI: 10.1097/00004032-200204000-00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The systemic distribution of plutonium was determined for "healthy" workers who chronically inhaled plutonium at the radiochemical plants of the Mayak Production Association. The data were obtained by radiochemical analysis of soft tissues and bones samples collected upon autopsy of 120 workers who died from acute coronary diseases and accidents. The soft tissue samples were wet-ashed using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Bone samples were ashed in a muffle furnace at 500 degrees C. Plutonium was extracted on anionite and coprecipitated with bismuth phosphate. The precipitation was blended with ZnS powder, and the alpha-activity was measured by ZnS solid scintillation counting in a low-background alpha radiometer. Twenty-five years after the beginning of inhalation exposures, the average percentage of plutonium in the skeleton and liver was 50% and 42% of systemic burden, respectively. A multivariate regression was used to quantify the effects of exposure time, "transportability" of the various compounds, plutonium body content, and age on systemic plutonium distribution. The early retention of plutonium in the liver is assumed to be greater than that in the skeleton. The initial distribution of plutonium between the liver and the skeleton, immediately after entering the circulatory system, was 50:38%, respectively. With time, the fraction of plutonium found in the liver decreased, while the fraction in the skeleton increased at a rate of 0.5% y(-1) of systemic deposition. Exposure time had a greater effect on the relative retention of plutonium in the main organs when compared to age. The statistical estimates that characterized the relative plutonium distribution were less stable for the liver than for the skeleton, likely due to the slower turnover of skeletal tissues and the retention of plutonium in bone.
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Affiliation(s)
- K G Suslova
- Southern Ural Biophysics Institute, Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, Russia
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Polig E, Bruenger FW, Lloyd RD, Miller SC. Biokinetic and dosimetric model of plutonium in the dog. HEALTH PHYSICS 2000; 78:182-190. [PMID: 10647984 DOI: 10.1097/00004032-200002000-00007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
A biokinetic model of the systemic distribution and dosimetry of 239Pu in the beagle dog is presented. To achieve maximum consistency with experimental data, known histomorphometric parameters and results of autoradiographic studies were adopted directly. The remaining parameters were determined from retention and excretion measurements by optimization procedures. The beagle model attempts to parallel the human model as much as possible, but only one liver compartment and one compartment representing other soft tissues were needed to describe the data adequately. The salient features and differences of the biokinetic behavior of 239Pu beagles and humans are compared. Generally the organ retention of the beagle in relation to the lifetime is longer than in humans. This is particularly pronounced in the skeleton. Trabecular deposits of plutonium are gradually shifted to cortical sites. For the dosimetric model some additional features disregarded in the human model were employed. These relate to bone volume labels, a gradation of concentrations in marrow, the energy-dependence of absorbed fractions, and the self-absorption in marrow. The model predicts that the contribution of surface deposits to the endosteal dose still exceeds the contributions from bone volume and marrow labels. The average endosteal dose is about eight times and the marrow dose about two times larger than the average skeletal dose. The model provides the basis for the analysis of survival and relative risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Polig
- Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Hauptabteilung Sicherheit/Strahlenschutz, Germany.
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Mirka MA, Clulow FV, Davé NK, Lim TP. Radium-226 in cattails, Typha latifolia, and bone of muskrat, Ondatra zibethica (L.), from a watershed with uranium tailings near the city of Elliot Lake, Canada. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 1996; 91:41-51. [PMID: 15091452 DOI: 10.1016/0269-7491(95)00030-u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/1994] [Accepted: 04/06/1995] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Radium-226 concentrations were measured in the main food plants (cattails, Typha latifolia) and bone of adult muskrats (Ondatra zibethica (L.)), taken from a study area near Quirke Lake in the Serpent River drainage basin. This watershed receives drainage containing radionuclides from the U tailings near the City of Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada. Two control sites (one local, one 130 km distant) were also sampled. Radium-226 levels in cattails varied by plant part and place of collection. Roots sampled in the study area had the highest mean (226)Ra level (1135.0 mBq g(-1)), stems and leaves had 284.2 and 275.9 mBq g(-1), respectively (dry-weight basis, n = 6 in all cases). Local and distant control cattails carried much lower (226)Ra levels (20.2 and 15.2 mBq g(-1) dry weight, respectively, using pooled equal portions of all plant parts, n = 3 in both cases). Muskrats from waters with mean total (226)Ra levels in the period, 1984-1987 greater than 75.0 mBq litre(-1) ('study-high' sites), near U tailings within 10 km of Quirke Lake, had a mean (geometric) bone level of (226)Ra of 344.9 mBq g(-1) (dry-weight basis, n = 36); those from nearby waters, containing < 75.0 mBq litre(-1) of (226)Ra ('study-low' sites), had a mean bone level (80.3 mBq g(-1), n = 9) similar to animals taken in unaffected local control areas 20 km from the tailings (79.1 mBq g(-1), n = 12); animals from the distant control area, near Sudbury, Ontario, had the lowest mean burden (11.5 mBq g(-1), n = 24). Levels were unrelated to age or sex of the animals. Dry-weight based (226)Ra concentration ratios (bone concentration/plant tissue concentration) were calculated to range from 0.3-1.4 in the study-high area to 2.4-6.3 in the local control area. Wet-weight based concentration ratios were about 4.3 times higher. Concentration ratios were similar to values calculated for other species and in general agreement with values calculated for humans. The muskrat is judged to be a useful indicator (biomonitor) of environmental (226)Ra levels as there is a highly significant positive correlation coefficient (r = 0.74) between bone and ambient (water) concentrations of the radionuclide (F79 = 95.04, P < 0.0001) Estimated yearly (226)Ra intake by people eating muskrats was calculated to be below the current allowable level set by Canadian regulatory authorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Mirka
- Elliot Lake Research Field Station, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, P3E 2C6
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Singh NP, Jensen RC, Wrenn ME. Macro distributions of plutonium in the femur of the general population and comparisons to occupational cases and animal studies. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 1992. [DOI: 10.1007/bf02038353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Cloutier N, Clulow F, Lim T, Davé N. Metal (Cu, Ni, Fe, Co, Zn, Pb) and Ra-226 levels in tissues of meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus living on nickel and uranium mine tailings in Ontario, Canada: Site, sex, age and season effects with calculation of average skeletal radiation dose. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1986. [DOI: 10.1016/0143-1471(86)90024-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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