Title: Transfer of radiocesium from uncultivated soils to grass after the Chernobyl accident
Author: Z. Pietrzak-Flis, P. Krajewski, G. Krajewska, N.R. Sunderland
Reference: Science of The Total Environment, Volume 141, Issues 1–3, 25 January 1994, Pages 147-153
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-9697(94)90024-8
Keywords: Radiocesium; Grass; Soil; Transfer factor; Chernobyl
Abstract: Transfer of radiocesium from uncultivated peat, loam and two sandy soils to grass in northeastern Poland was evaluated. Samples of grass and soil were collected from the same area of about 100 m2 in the period from June 1988 to November 1991 twice a year. Grass was sampled from 1 m × 1 m squares by cutting to the plant base. Afterwards core samples of soil were taken from an area of 132.73 cm2. 134Cs, 137Cs and 40K were determined by gamma spectrometry. The average concentration of 137Cs (to 10 cm depth) in the studied areas was in the range from 22.8 ± 2.5 Bq kg−1 to 154.3 ± 13.7 Bq kg−1. The average concentration of this radionuclide in grass varied from 6.76 ± 0.99 Bq kg−1 dry weight (dry wt.) to 152.6 ± 37.4 Bq kg−1 dry wt and depended upon the type of soil. The transfer of radiocesium to grass in the studied soils decreased in the following order: Sand I > peat > Sand II > loam. The results indicated that apart from soil, other parameters also influenced the transfer of radiocesium to grass. It has been found that 134Cs from Chernobyl is more available to grass than 137Cs from nuclear weapon tests.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0048969794900248
Title: The transfer capability of long-lived Chernobyl radionuclides from surface soil to river water in dissolved forms
Author: H Amano, T Matsunaga, S Nagao, Y Hanzawa, M Watanabe, T Ueno, Y Onuma
Reference: Organic Geochemistry, Volume 30, Issue 6, June 1999, Pages 437-442
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(99)00028-5
Keywords: Sr-90; Cs-137; Transuranic elements; Speciation; Surface soil; Runoff; Dissolved organic materials; Fulvic acid; Ultrafiltration; Chernobyl 30 km zone
Abstract: Hydrologic runoff is one of the main processes in which radionuclides deposited in the surface environment migrate widely in both particulate and dissolved forms. This paper focuses on the transfer capability of long lived Chernobyl radionuclides from surface soil to river water in dissolved forms. First, concentration and speciation of radioactive Cs, Sr and transuranic isotopes, such as Pu and Am, were examined in undisturbed surface soil along the river in the exclusion zone (30 km zone) near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in order to validate the radioactive contamination characteristics. Almost all radioactivities exist in the very top surface in the undisturbed soil layer. Sr-90 in the soil was estimated to be highest in the water soluble and exchangeable fractions, which were easily accessible to river water as a dissolved fraction. Pu isotopes and Am-241 are major radionuclides in free humic and free fulvic acid fractions. Secondly, surface soil near the Sahan River was extracted with distilled water, as an analogue of rain water, to estimate the dissolved fraction in runoff components from surface soil to river water. After a filtration procedure, extracted water was treated with ultra filtration techniques separating the molecular weight fractions of beyond and below 10,000 Da. Each fraction was measured for the radioactivity and the characteristics of organic materials including humic substances. Most Pu and Am exist in the molecular weight fractions beyond 10,000 Da, in spite of the fact that most of the dissolved organic fractions exist below 10,000 Da. This means that transuranic elements such as Pu and Am are associated with mobile high molecular weight materials like fulvic acids in water leachates.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638099000285
Title: Chemical forms of γ-emitting radionuclides in soils adjacent to the Chernobyl NPP
Author: A.L. Kliashtorin, A.I. Shcheglov, F.A. Tikhomirov
Reference: Science of The Total Environment, Volume 164, Issue 3, 30 March 1995, Pages 177-184
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-9697(95)04464-C
Keywords: Radionuclides; Chernobyl NPP; Caesium; Soils
Abstract: Samples of sandy forest soils, meadow sandy-peat soil and meadow sandy-loam soil were taken at different sites within a 30-km zone around the Chernobyl NPP (ChNPP). The samples were extracted with water and a 0.1-N solution of ammonium acetate. The extracts were measured for γ-radionuclides and stable cation content. The content of all mobile forms of the radionuclides present in the 0–10-cm soil layer accounts for 0.5-5% of the total radionuclide content in this layer, depending on the type of radionuclide and soil. Water soluble forms of the radionuclides were found in the 0–5-cm layer only. Exchangable radionuclide forms were represented, as a rule, by radiocaesium in both the 0–5- and 5–10-cm layers. Content of Cs-137 exchangeable forms in the organic-mineral horizon were roughly inversely proportional to the sum of stable exchangeable cations and organic matter content. Forest vegetation takes up a significant share of the mobile forms of radiocaesium from the soils.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/004896979504464C
Title: Application of Chernobyl-derived for the assessment of soil redistribution within a cultivated field
Author: Valentin Golosov
Reference: Soil and Tillage Research, Volume 69, Issues 1–2, February 2003, Pages 85-98
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(02)00130-7
Keywords: Chernobyl; ; Soil redistribution; Erosion; Method
Abstract: Vast areas of Europe were contaminated by the Chernobyl-derived in April–May 1986. This paper reports a detailed study of the post-fallout redistribution within a 1 ha field located in the Chasovenkov Verh catchment in the northern part of the Middle-Russian upland. Particular attention was paid to the study of reference inventories. It is shown that the random spatial variability of is similar within undisturbed and cultivated parts of a flat interfluve. Systematic spatial variability is not essential for a relatively short (200 m) topographical unit with simple relief. The analysis of a soil redistribution pattern within the study field using the Chernobyl technique demonstrates that it is possible to identify areas of soil loss/gain. This pattern does not reflect soil redistribution for the whole field, because these have been only 12 years since the Chernobyl accident. Net erosion rates based on method were comparable to soil losses directly measured at the study field.
URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167198702001307
Title: Estimating thyroid masses for children, infants, and fetuses in Ukraine exposed to (131)I from the Chernobyl accident.
Author: Likhtarov I, Kovgan L, Masiuk S, Chepurny M, Ivanova O, Gerasymenko V, Boyko Z, Voillequé P, Antipkin Y, Lutsenko S, Oleynik V, Kravchenko V, Tronko M. Ukrainian Radiation Protection Institute
Reference: Health Phys. 2013 Jan;104(1):78-86.
doi: 10.1097/HP.0b013e31826e188e.
Keywords: children,
Abstract: For the purpose of improving retrospective internal thyroid dose estimations for children and adolescents following the Chernobyl accident, age- and gender-dependent thyroid masses have been estimated for the children of Kiev and Zhytomyr oblasts, which are two of the most contaminated regions of Northern Ukraine. For children ages 6-16 y, the thyroid masses were based on the measurements by ultrasound of the thyroid volumes of about 60,000 children performed by the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation in the 1990s. For children aged 0 to 36 mo, because thyroid mass values for Ukrainian children were not found in the literature, autopsies were performed for the specific purpose of this paper. Thyroid mass values for children aged 3-5 and 17-18 y were either interpolated or extrapolated from the measured data sets. The results for children aged 6-16 y indicate that the thyroid masses of rural children are, on average, slightly higher (by about 8%) than the thyroid masses of urban children. The geometric means of the thyroid masses were estimated as 5.2 g, 9.0 g, and 15.8 g for boys and 5.2 g, 9.4 g, and 16.0 g for girls aged 5, 10, and 15 y, respectively. Those values are greater than the reference values that ICRP recommends for iodine-sufficient populations, thus reflecting the fact that the northern part of Ukraine is iodine-deficient.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23192090
Title: Prognosis of thyroid nodules in individuals living in the Zhitomir region of Ukraine.
Author: Hayashida N, Sekitani Y, Takahashi J, Kozlovsky AA, Gutevych OK, Saiko AS, Nirova NV, Petrova AA, Rafalskiy RM, Chorny SA, Daniliuk VV, Anami M, Yamashita S, Takamura N. Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University,
Reference: PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e50648. doi:
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050648. Epub 2012 Nov 28.
Keywords:
Abstract: After the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP), the incidence of thyroid cancer increased among children. Recently, a strong relationship between solid thyroid nodules and the incidence of thyroid cancer was shown in atomic bomb survivors. To assess the prognosis of benign thyroid nodules in individuals living in the Zhitomir region of Ukraine, around the CNPP, we conducted a follow-up investigation of screening data from 1991 to 2000 in the Ukraine.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509090/
Title: Risk of thyroid cancer occurrence by nuclear disasters and its countermeasures
Author: Kumagai A, Yamashita S. Education Center for Disaster Medicine, Fukushima Medical University.
Reference: Nihon Rinsho. 2012 Nov;70(11):1988-94.
doi:
Keywords:
Abstract: Looking back at the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, besides further studying the appropriateness of the initial response and post-countermeasures against the severe Fukushima nuclear accident, the importance of the epidemiological study in human health risk management and the comprehensive radiation protection standard need to be emphasized; lessons learnt from the Chernobyl accident should be also implemented. Therefore, since May 2011, Fukushima Prefecture has started the “Health Care Project (Fukushima Health Management Survey Project)” for the purpose of long-term health care administration and medical diagnosis/treatment for the prefectural residents. In this issue, risk and countermeasures of thyroid cancer occurrence by nuclear disasters, especially due to radioactive iodine will be discussed despite the difficult challenge of accurate estimation of low dose and low-dose rate radiation exposures.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23214073
Title: Iodine and thyroid gland with or without nuclear catastrophe
Author: Dilas LT, Bajkin I, Icin T, Paro JN, Zavisić BK.
Klinicki centar Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Klinika za endokrinologiju, dijabetes i bolesti metabolizma, Medicinski fakultet Novi Sad.
Reference: Med Pregl. 2012 Nov-Dec;65(11-12):489-95.
doi:
Keywords:
Abstract: Iodine, as a trace element, is a necessary and limiting substrate for thyroid gland hormone synthesis. It is an essential element that enables the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Synthesis of Thyroid Hormones and Iodine Metabolism. Three iodine molecules are added to make triiodothyronine, and four for thyroxine – the two key hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Iodine deficiency The proper daily amount of iodine is required for optimal thyroid function. Iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism, developmental brain disorders and goiter. Iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world. It also decreases child survival, causes goiters, and impairs growth and development. Iodine deficiency disorders in pregnant women cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and other complications. Children with iodine deficiency disorders can grow up stunted, apathetic, mentally retarded, and incapable of normal movements, speech or hearing. Excessive Iodine Intake. Excessive iodine intake, which can trigger a utoimmune thyroid disease and dysfunction. is on the other side. Iodine use in Case of Nuclear Catastrophe. In addition to other severe consuquences of radioactivity, high amount of radioactive iodine causes significant increase in incidence of thyroid gland carcinoma after some of the nuclear catastrophes (Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, Fukushima). The incidence of thyroid carcinoma was increased mostly in children. This paper was aimed at clarifying some of the possibilities of prevention according to the recommendations given by the World Health Organization.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23297615
Title: Late health effects of radiation exposure: New statistical, epidemiological, and biological approaches *
Author: Jacob P, Stram DO. Institute of Radiation Protection , Helmholtz Zentrum München , Germany.
Reference: Int J Radiat Biol. 2013 Mar 4.
doi:
Keywords: health effects,
Abstract: The 2012 Conference on Radiation and Health in Kennebunkport, Maine, USA, brought together epidemiologists, statisticians, basic scientists, and clinical scientists interested in the health effects of radiation exposure due to medical, diagnostic, occupational, and non-medical sources, to review the current status of epidemiologic and clinical research on radiation exposure in relation to risk of breast, thyroid cancer, and leukemia, cardiopulmonary events, and other late effects. Topics discussed included synergy between radiation exposure and genetic background; late effects of radiation therapy in childhood cancer survivors and several other medically exposed cohorts; leukemia risk seen in Russian and Chernobyl studies, and leukemia risk from computed tomography scans in childhood. Results and conclusions: This report summarizes the presentations at the meeting and discusses their significance in light of earlier studies and of other ongoing research.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23402349
Title: RET/PTC and PAX8/PPARγ chromosomal rearrangements in post-Chernobyl thyroid cancer and their association with iodine-131 radiation dose and other characteristics.
Author: Leeman-Neill RJ, Brenner AV, Little MP, Bogdanova TI, Hatch M, Zurnadzy LY, Mabuchi K, Tronko MD, Nikiforov YE.
Reference: Cancer. 2013 Feb 21.
doi: 10.1002/cncr.27893.
Keywords: RET/PTC, chromosomal rearrangements, PAX8/PPARγ, iodine-131
Abstract: These results provide the first demonstration of PAX8/PPARγ rearrangements in post-Chernobyl tumors and show different associations for point mutations and chromosomal rearrangements with (131) I dose and other factors. These data support the relationship between chromosomal rearrangements, but not point mutations, and (131) I exposure and point to a possible role of iodine deficiency in generation of RET/PTC rearrangements in these patients. Cancer 2013;. © 2013 American Cancer Society.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23436219
