Estimation of the biological danger of the very high energy component of space radiation.
In modelling the action of the high energy component of space radiation in a space ship, the secondary radiation resulting from the interaction of 76 GeV protons with a target was used. The radiation flow consisted of neutrons, mesons of different kinds and charges, protons and gamma-quanta of wide energy spectrum. We studied the influence of radiation on the survival of E. coli B and T4Br+ bacteriophage, on the growth, dry weight and survival of Vicia faba, on the frequency of chromosome aberrations, and number of cells with abnormal mitoses, on the rate of post-irradiation recovery according to these characteristics, and also on the yield of the r-mutants of T4Br+ bacteriophage, their distribution and biochemical identification. The probability of strong interactions with intra-nuclear cascade processes was minor. Their action on the background of the main mass of radiation with an RBE of less than 1 could be considerably masked. Nevertheless, the RBE of combined secondary radiation was sufficiently greater than 137Cs radiation; from approximate curves, it was from 1.2 to 4.0 times as great and in single experimental points it was more than 5. The spectrum of mutation was also different.
Akoev
I G
IG
Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow.
Yurov
S S
SS
Leontyeva
G A
GA
Livanova
I A
IA
Achmadiyeva
A H
AH
Fomenko
B S
BS
Lebedev
V N
VN
Lukanin
V N
VN
D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004601:Elementary Particles; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008938:Mitosis / Q000528:radiation effects; D009154:Mutation; D011522:Protons; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D031307:Vicia faba / Q000528:radiation effects*
D011522:Protons