Assessment of working environment and personal dosimeter-wearing compliance of industrial
radiographers based on chromosome aberration frequencies
The objective of our study was to investigate the impact
of specific occupational conditions on chromosome aberration frequency and evaluate
dosimeter-wearing compliance of industrial radiographers in Korea. We studied individual and
occupational characteristics of 120 industrial radiographers working in South Korea and evaluated
the frequency of dicentrics and translocations in chromosomes to estimate radiation exposure. The
association between working conditions and chromosome aberration frequencies was assessed by Poisson
regression analysis after adjusting for confounding factors. Legal personal dosimeter-wearing...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 16, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Younghyun Lee, Songwon Seo, Young Woo Jin and Seongjae Jang Source Type: research
Large-scale individual monitoring of internal contamination by gamma-emitting radionuclides in
nuclear accident scenarios
The results obtained in a measurement campaign concerning internal contamination by the
gamma-emitting radionuclides of a large number of individuals are presented in this work. The aim is
to assess the effectiveness of the spectrometric method in an emergency response following a nuclear
power plant accident or a spread of radionuclides in the atmosphere due to an act of terrorism. An
HPGe portable spectrometer, deployed in a collective protection apparatus, was used for both
whole-body and thyroid measurements. An adult bottle mannequin absorption (BOMAB) and thyroid
phantoms were used to evaluate the detector perf...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 16, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: I Vilardi, G Antonacci, P Battisti, C-M Castellani, L Ciciani, D Del Gaudio, I Giardina, G Iurlaro, A Rizzo and L Sperandio Source Type: research
A biokinetic model for trivalent or hexavalent chromium in adult humans
Chromium exists in several oxidation states, with the trivalent state (Cr(III)) being the dominant
naturally occurring form. Chromium in other oxidation states tends to be converted to the trivalent
oxide in the natural environment and in biological systems. Chromium(III) has been shown to be an
essential nutrient for humans and several non-human species. Chromium(VI), the second most stable
form of chromium, is an important environmental contaminant that is mostly of industrial origin and
is associated with lung cancer and nose tumours in chromium workers. This paper proposes a
biokinetic model for chromium that add...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 12, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: M M Hiller and R W Leggett Source Type: research
In vivo measurement of pre-operational spallation source workers: baseline body burden levels and
detection limits of relevant gamma emitters using high-resolution gamma spectrometry
This study describes the whole-body counting set-up, calibration procedure, and
subsequent validation measurements using conventional NaI(Tl)-scanning-bed geometry on a selection
of workers from the ESS. Detection limits for the relevant gamma emitters 7 Be, 172 Hf, and 182 Ta
were determined to be 65 Bq, 130 Bq, and 22 Bq, respectively, using a 2400 s acquisition time. The
baseline measurements suggest that care must be taken to ensure that the fluctuations in the
presence of radon daughters 214 Bi and 214 Pb are minimised by... (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 12, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Christopher L R ääf, Anja Almén, Lena Johansson and Kristina Eriksson Stenström Source Type: research
Accounting for ingrowth of radioactive progeny in dose assessments: generic weighting factors for
dose coefficients
In this paper, we describe a practical and convenient method to include the contribution of the
ingrowth of radioactive progeny in dose assessments of the corresponding parent nuclides. This
method modifies the dose coefficients (DCs) of parent nuclides by adding weighted DCs of the
corresponding daughter nuclides to them. Based on the decay kinetics of serial nuclear
transformations, the progeny weighting factors, with values between 0 and 1, are derived by analysis
of the time-integrated activity of each nuclide in the (branched) decay chain headed by a parent
nuclide. Using the electronic, nuclear-decay database o...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 10, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Teun van Dillen, Arjan van Dijk, Astrid Kloosterman, Federica Russo and Chantal Mommaert Source Type: research
Development of size-specific institutional diagnostic reference levels for computed tomography
protocols in neck imaging
Purpose: To develop size-specific institutional diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for computed
tomography (CT) protocols used in neck CT imaging (cervical spine CT, cervical CT angiography (CTA)
and cervical staging CT) and to compare institutional to national DRLs. Materials and methods:
Cervical CT examinations (spine, n = 609; CTA, n = 505 and staging CT, n = 184) performed between
01/2016 and 06/2017 were included in this retrospective study. For each region and examination, the
volumetric CT dose index (CTDI vol ) and dose-length product (DLP) were determined and binned into
size bins according to patien...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 10, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Andrea Steuwe, Christoph Thomas, Bastian Kraus, Oliver Thomas Bethge, Joel Aissa, Yan Klosterkemper, Gerald Antoch and Johannes Boos Source Type: research
Low dose of external exposure among returnees to former evacuation areas: a cross-sectional
all-municipality joint study following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant incident
This study used individual radiation dosimeter monitoring and a
location history survey to conduct the most recent dose assessment of external exposure among
returnees to former no-go zones. We specifically determined correlation and agreement between
external doses and the air dose rate in residential areas and quantified both uncertainty and
population variability of the observed data using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation methods. A total of
239 voluntary participants across ten municipalities were analysed; their representativeness of all
affected municipal populations was confirmed in terms of air dose rate distribut...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - December 5, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Shuhei Nomura, Michio Murakami, Wataru Naito, Tetsuo Yasutaka, Toyoaki Sawano and Masaharu Tsubokura Source Type: research
Diagnostic reference levels for paediatric CT in Jordan
This study aimed to investigate the current status of Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) in
paediatric CT across Jordan. The dose data for four main CT examinations (brain, chest,
abdominopelvic, and chest, abdomen and pelvis (CAP)) in hospitals and imaging centres (n = 4) were
measured. The volume CT dose index (CTDI vol ) and Dose Length Product (DLP) values were compared
within the different hospitals and age groups ( (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 5, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Mohammad Rawashdeh, Mostafa Abdelrahman, Maha Zaitoun, Charbel Saade, Haytham Alewaidat and Mark F McEntee Source Type: research
Second follow-up of a German cohort on childhood cancer incidence after exposure to postnatal
diagnostic x-ray
This study
presents results of the second follow-up for the risk of childhood cancer in a cohort of children
( (Source: Journal of Radiological Protection)
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - November 5, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Dan Baaken, Ga ël P Hammer, Michael C Seidenbusch, Karl Schneider, Claudia Spix, Maria Blettner, Roman Pokora and Eva Lorenz Source Type: research
Ionising radiation and lens opacities in interventional physicians: results of a German pilot study
We assessed the feasibility of an epidemiological study on the risk of radiation-related lens
opacities among interventional physicians in Germany. In a regional multi-centre pilot study
associated with a European project, we tested the recruitment strategy, a European questionnaire on
work history for the latter dosimetry calculation and the endpoint assessment. 263 interventional
physicians and 129 non-exposed colleagues were invited. Questionnaires assessed eligibility
criteria, risk factors for cataract, and work history relating to occupational exposure to ionising
radiation, including details on type and amount...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - October 16, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Ulrike Scheidemann-Wesp, Emilio A L Gianicolo, Rafael J C ámara, Alfred Wegener, Sabine E Buchner, Oliver Schwenn, Andrea Höck, Harald Buchner, Katrin Lorenz, Urs Vossmerbaeumer, Myriam Böhm, Thomas Kohnen, Daniel Wollschläger, Susanne Singer, Maria B Source Type: research
What does radiation biology tell us about potential health effects at low dose and low dose rates?
The health risks to humans exposed to low dose and low dose rate ionising radiation remain ambiguous
and are the subject of debate. The need to establish risk assessment standards based on the
mechanisms underlying low dose/low fluence radiation exposures has been recognised by scholarly and
regulatory bodies as critical for reducing the uncertainty in predicting adverse health risks of
human exposure to low doses of radiation. Here, a brief review of laboratory-based evidence of
molecular and biochemical changes induced by low doses and low dose rates of radiation is presented.
In particular, two phenomena, namely b...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Edouard I Azzam Source Type: research
Enhancing low-dose risk assessment using mechanistic mathematical models of radiation effects
Mechanistic mathematical modeling of ionizing radiation (IR) effects has a long history spanning
several decades. Models that mathematically represent current knowledge and hypotheses about how
radiation damages cells and organs, leading to deleterious outcomes such as carcinogenesis, are
particularly useful for estimating radiation risks at doses that are relevant for radiation
protection, but are too low to provide a strong ‘signal-to-noise ratio’ in epidemiological or
experimental studies with realistic sample sizes. Here, I discuss examples of models in several
relevant areas, including radionuclide biokineti...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Igor Shuryak Source Type: research
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission radiation protection policy and opportunities for the future
For nearly 50 years, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been responsible for the
development of radiation protection regulations and guidance for protecting workers, the public and
the environment. In 1971, although ALARA was not a regulatory requirement, NRC ’s predecessor, the
Atomic Energy Commission, incorporated the concept of ‘as low as is practically achievable’ into its
general provisions for standards against radiation, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR)
Part 20. In 1975, the NRC codified the phrase ‘as low as is reasonably achievable’ (ALARA) and the
definition of ALARA was...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Cynthia G Jones Source Type: research
Studies of radiation health effects inform EPA actions
In 1970, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was given the responsibility to provide
guidance to other federal agencies in the formulation of radiation protection standards. To carry
out its federal guidance responsibilities and protect human health, the EPA must estimate risk at
low doses to limit the risk of radiogenic cancers from environmental exposures. These risk estimates
are based on models which conform to the linear no threshold (LNT) hypothesis. A cancer risk model
conforms to the LNT hypothesis if the excess risk of cancer at low doses increases approximately
proportional to dose, with no thresho...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: David Pawel and Michael Boyd Source Type: research
Translating science into recommendations: the development of NCRP Report No. 180
The development of new recommendations for radiological protection is a complex process of
translating scientific knowledge of radiation risks into a coherent system for protection, using
experience and ethical values. From 2014 to 2019, the US National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements (NCRP) engaged in the development of updated recommendations to replace those
previously published in 1993. This process included considering the experiences gained with
implementation of the NCRP recommendations, and the recommendations of the International Commission
on Radiological Protection. The new recommendations...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - September 25, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: D A Cool Source Type: research
