title: Chronic radioisotope effects on residents of the Techa River (Russia) region: cytogenetic analysis more than 50 years after onset of exposure.
abstract: This paper presents the results of a cytogenetic study conducted among residents of the Techa Riverside communities (Southern Urals, Russia) exposed in the early 1950s as a result of releases of liquid radioactive wastes from the Mayak plutonium-production facility. The study was performed 50-60 years after the beginning of the exposure for those individuals who were predominantly exposed to strontium radioisotopes ((89,90)Sr) through drinking contaminated river water and consumption of local foodstuff. Standard cytogenetic methods were used for evaluation of the frequency of unstable chromosome aberrations in exposed persons as well as in persons from the control group who were of similar age and sex, living in similar socio-economic conditions in non-contaminated territories of the Southern Urals. The exposure doses were reconstructed for the studied donors using the Techa River Dosimetry System developed in 2009. The doses of internal exposure from ingested radionuclides were evaluated using individual or family in vivo measurements of (90)Sr-body burden. Individual cumulative absorbed doses in red bone marrow (RBM) in the studied persons varied in the range of 0.01-4.4Gy. A significantly higher level of unstable chromosome aberrations (UCA) in T-cells was observed in the group of exposed individuals as compared to control group. The highest UCA level was detected in the individuals who were suspected of having chronic radiation syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Physiology Laboratory of the Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia, 68-A Vorovsky st., Chelyabinsk 454076, Russian Federation. Electronic address: vozilova@urcrm.ru.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Vozilova
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Shagina
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Degteva
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Akleyev
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001822:Body Burden; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000528:radiation effects*; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D045483:Rivers; D012426:Russia; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes
keywords: Internal exposure to Sr-radioisotopes; Techa River cohort; Unstable chromosome aberrations