Health Effects in a Casual Sample of Immigrants to Israel from Areas Contaminated by the Chernobyl Explosion (original) (raw)

Radioactivity in persons exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident

1987

Measurements of fallout radioactivity were made in the thyroid region, abdomen, whole body, or urine of 96 persons who were in eastern Europe at the time of the Chernobyl reactor accident or who went there shortly afterward. The most frequently encountered radionuclides were /sup 131/I, sup 134,137/Cs, and /sup 103/Ru//sup 103/Rh. The median /sup 131/I activity in the thyroids of 42 subjects in whom radioiodine was detected and who were in Europe when the accident began was projected as 42 nCi the day the accident began. The median total body activity of /sup 134/Cs in 40 subjects in which it was detected was 1.7 nCi upon arrival in the US. For 51 subjects with detectable /sup 137/Cs burdens, the total body activity was 4.6 nCi. The risk of fatal thyroid cancer is less than 3 x 10/sup -6/ for nearly all subjects in this series. The risk of fatal cancer from /sup 134,137/Cs for subjects with cesium exposures similar to the ones observed by us, but who remained in Europe, is estimated...

Influence of various factors on individual radiation exposure from the Chernobyl disaster

Environmental health : a global access science source, 2002

The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was one of the greatest known nuclear disasters of the 20th century. To reduce individual exposure to ionizing radiation the Soviet Union government introduced a number of counter-measures. This article presents a description of how historical events conspired to disrupt these efforts and affect residents in exposed areas. This study employed an extensive review of data on radionuclide deposition, contamination patterns and lifestyle characteristics. Data were obtained from the Ukraine Ministry of Health and the Ukraine Research Center for Radiation Medicine. Data are presented on annual contamination rates in selected locales as well as data on local food consumption patterns. Historical factors including economic and political circumstances are also highlighted. Results show the diminution of individual doses between 1987 and 1991 and then an increase between 1991 and 1994 and the relationship between this increase and changes in ...

Radiobiological evaluation of immigrants from the vicinity of Chernobyl

International Journal of Radiation Biology, 1997

Eighty individuals (55 adults and 25 children) who mental contamination. Large quantities of radiowere residents of four cities (Kiev, Mozyr, Gomel and Bobrujsk) nuclides contaminated the surrounding countryside, located 100± 200 km from Chernobyl at the time of the accident creating hazardous conditions for the inhabitants. in 1986 were tested after immigrating to the US from 1989± 1991.

The Estonian Study of Chernobyl Cleanup Workers: I. Design and Questionnaire Data

Radiation Research, 1997

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Long-term external and internal irradiation of inhabitants in an area highly contaminated by the Chernobyl accident

Radioprotection, 2002

From 1990 to 1998, estimations of the effective dose from external and internal irradiation due to l37 Cs and >,A Cs were carried out for inhabitants in rural villages in theBryansk region, Russia, highly contaminated due to the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Yearly expeditions were conducted in autumn. The external effective dose was estimated from measurements with thermoluminescent (TL)-dosemeters worn by the participants during one month each year. The internal effective dose was estimated from measurements of the urinary concentration of caesium radionuclides, together with measurements of the body content using a portable detector. The mean effective dose from external and internal irradiation varied between 1.2 and 2.5 mSv per year between 1990 and 1998. The total mean effective dose decreased, on average, 7% per year, while the mean external dose decreased by 15% per year. The dose rate from internal irradiation decreased more slowly than the dose rate from external irradiation, showing large variations from year to year depending to a great extent on dietary habits. The contribution from the external dose to the total dose was between 50-70%, depending on the village. The cumulated effective dose for the 70-year period after the accident was calculated to be 100 mSv with the assumption that both internal and external dose will decrease by 2% per year.

Cancer risk among chernobyl cleanup workers in Estonia and Latvia, 1986–1998

International Journal of Cancer, 2006

Two cohorts of Chernobyl cleanup workers from Estonia (4,786 men) and Latvia (5,546 men) were followed from 1986 to 1998 to investigate cancer incidence among persons exposed to ionizing radiation from the Chernobyl accident. Each cohort was identified from various independent sources and followed using nationwide population and mortality registries. Cancers were ascertained by linkage with nationwide cancer registries. Overall, 75 incident cancers were identified in the Estonian cohort and 80 in the Latvian cohort. The combined-cohort standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for all cancers was 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5 0.98-1.34) and for leukemia, 1.53 (95% CI 5 0.62-3.17; n 5 7). Statistically significant excess cases of thyroid (SIR 5 7.06, 95% CI 5 2.84-14.55; n 5 7) and brain cancer (SIR 5 2.14, 95% CI 5 1.07-3.83; n 5 11) were found, mainly based on Latvian data. However, there was no evidence of a dose response for any of these sites, and the relationship to radiation exposure remains to be established. Excess of thyroid cancer cases observed may have been due to screening, the leukemia cases included 2 unconfirmed diagnoses, and the excess cases of brain tumors may have been a chance finding. There was an indication of increased risk associated with early entry to the Chernobyl area and late follow-up, though not statistically significant. Further follow-up of Chernobyl cleanup workers is warranted to clarify the possible health effects of radiation exposure. ' 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Clinical aspects of the health disturbances in Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident clean-up workers (liquidators) from Latvia

Inflammopharmacology, 2009

made of external ionizing radiation to which these workers were exposed together with observations on the impact of exposure to heavy metals (especially lead and zinc) and radioactive isotopes released during the reactor 'meltdown'. These factors along with psycho-emotional and social-cconomic stresses account for a marked excess of mortality and morbidity in the group of CNPP accident clean-up workers compared with that of the non-exposed normal Latvian population adjusted for age and sex. The number ofdiseases or conditions in the CNPP accident clean-up workers has progressively risen from an average of I .3 in I 986 to I 0.9 in 2007. This exceeds for the Latvian population when adjusted for age and sex. The most serious conditions affect the

Chernobyl Accident: Exposures and Effects

Radionuclides released from the Chernobyl accident have been dispersed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Values are collected here of the estimates so far provided of the resultant radiation exposures in countries. The collective effective dose equivalent commitment is of the order of 800,000 man Sv. Average individual dose commitments outside the USSR range up to 4 mSv, which is approximately twice the normal annual dose from natural background radiation. The estimated average doses in countries decrease in a regular fashion with distances from the accident site.

The Estonian Study of Chernobyl Cleanup Workers: II. Incidence of Cancer and Mortality

Radiation Research, 1997

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.