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PubMed1996

Do human lymphocytes exposed to the fallout of the Chernobyl accident exhibit an adaptive response? III. Challenge with bleomycin in lymphocytes from children hit by the initial acute dose of ionizing radiation.

In the present paper, we report data on the possible adaptive response, induced in vivo by exposure to ionizing radiation to a challenge treatment with the radiomimetic glycopeptide bleomycin (BLM). Lymphocytes from children living in Pripjat at the time of the Chernobyl accident, and thus hit by the initial acute dose of ionizing radiation, were treated for the last 5 h of culture with 0.004 U/ml BLM. Significantly lower chromosome damage was found only in lymphocytes from children who, independently of the initial acute exposure to ionizing radiation, still showed a 137Cs internal contamination, due to persistent continuous exposure to low doses of radiation. The present results indicate that past exposure to acute high dose of ionizing radiation does not interfere with resistance to BLM which is related to internal contamination.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1987

Chernobyl's challenge to the environment: a report from Sweden.

This paper reports the levels of radiocesium registered in about 9000 samples collected in different parts of Sweden following the Chernobyl accident during the period May-November 1986. The maximum Cs levels were detected in reindeer, freshwater fish and mushrooms. Parameters possibly affecting the nuclide concentration in different biota are briefly discussed.

Accidents↗
PubMed1987

Iodine-131 and other radionuclides in environmental samples collected from Ibaraki/Japan after the Chernobyl accident.

Measurements were made of 131I, 137Cs, 134Cs and 103Ru in environmental samples collected from Ibaraki-Prefecture, Japan, after the Chernobyl accident. The highest values of 131I obtained in May 1986 were 98 Bq l-1 (2.7 nCi l-1) for rain water (collected at the beginning of the rainfall), 400 Bq kg-1 (11 nCi kg-1) for pine needles (wet), 160 Bq kg-1 (4.3 nCi kg-1) for vegetables (wet) and 52 Bq kg-1 (1.4 nCi kg-1) for seaweed (wet). Most of the radioiodine in rain water was present as IO3- and I-. The proportion of IO3- in fresh rain water was higher than that of I-, but the IO3- was converted to I- during storage. About 10% of 131I was removed from leaf vegetables by washing, and about 70% by boiling.

Accidents↗
PubMed1987

Radioactive contamination in Nijmegen rainwater after the Chernobyl accident.

Following the Chernobyl accident, rainwater was collected in the Nijmegen area during the first three weeks of May 1986. The radionuclides found in the water were 131I, 132Te, 132I, 140La, 134Cs, 137Cs and 103Ru. On the first rainy day, an activity concentration of 9 kBq l-1 was measured, with specific activities of 2.7 kBq l-1 for 131I and 2.3 kBq l-1 for each of 132Te and 132I. The total activity precipitated per square kilometer in this period was approximately 55 GBq. Fresh spinach picked in Nijmegen on 7 May had an activity of 1.5 kBq kg-1.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Silver-110m and 125Sb in Chernobyl fallout.

Measurements of the two unusual nuclides 110mAg and 125Sb in soils and grass, derived from fallout, were made in Greece after the Chernobyl reactor accident. The 110mAg concentrations ranged from 4.5 to 46.1 Bq kg-1 (average 14.3 Bq kg-1) in soils and from 0.2 to 1.5 Bq kg-1 (average 0.8 Bq kg-1) in grass. The 125Sb concentrations ranged from 15.7 to 284.6 Bq kg-1 (average 105.0 Bq kg-1) in soils and from 1.1 to 19.6 Bq kg-1 (average 4.4 Bq kg-1) in grass.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Displacement of Chernobyl fallout in snow layers of temperate Alpine glaciers.

Measurements of the gross-beta-activity and a gamma-spectrum analysis of radioactive fallout from Chernobyl distributed in vertical snow profiles on an Alpine glacier were carried out. Samples were collected in summer 1986 and in summer 1987. A displacement of isotopes to depths of approximately 6 m was observed. The mean activity per unit area amounts to 10.4 and 6.6 kBq m-2 for samples from 1986 and 1987, respectively, both values corrected to 1 May 1987. Isotopes with half-lives shorter than 110m Ag (250 days) could no longer be detected in 1987.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Chernobyl fallout measurements in some Mediterranean biotas.

The radioactivity of various terrestrial vegetation leaves characteristic of Mediterranean countries has been measured after the Chernobyl accident. In addition, we paid particular attention to lichens and seaweed which are considered as bioindicators of radioactive contamination. Most measurements were performed non-destructively using both coaxial and planar HPGe detectors. For odd mass radionuclides having low energy lines, such as 125Sb or 141Ce the sensitivity of the planar HPGe detector is better than the coaxial detector. The concentration of long-lived fission nuclides remaining three months after the accident were found to be enhanced in needle form leaves and in lichens. The seaweed Sphaerococcus exhibits a strong specific activity for iodine and ruthenium elements and poor concentration for caesium nuclides. The activity ratios of different isotopes of the same element measured in vegetation samples agree well with values found in airborne aerosols by other authors. The activation nuclide 110mAg is found in all samples with the same ratio 110mAg/137Cs = (1.0 +/- 0.2).10(-2) as in the soil deposition.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Chernobyl--its impact on Austria.

The nuclear reactor accident of 26 April 1986 in Chernobyl, USSR, led to numerous investigations in Austria concerning radiation levels in the environment. Consequently measures were drawn up by the Austrian government in an effort to minimize the doses to the general public. The paper gives a general view of the programs set up by the Austrian Environmental Protection Agency and others in trying to assess basic measurement parameters.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

The influence of different agricultural practices on the transfer of radionuclides from pasture to milk after the Chernobyl accident.

Deposition of radionuclides from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Ukraine occurred over much of the United Kingdom. The magnitude of the deposition varied considerably, depending on the prevailing weather, but even in areas of low deposition, iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137 were measurable on pasture and in cows' milk. The accident provided an opportunity to study the influence of differences in herd management and in climate upon transfer to cows' milk. In this paper, results from a small mixed farm in Cumbria are compared with those from a large dairy farm in Berkshire for the first few weeks after deposition. The contrasting herd management practices in operation at these farms result in very different temporal variations in activity concentrations in milk, although in neither case were the maximum concentrations in milk sufficient to warrant restrictions on distribution or consumption.

Accidents↗
PubMed1989

Interception and retention of Chernobyl-derived 134Cs, 137Cs and 106Ru in a spruce stand.

The time dependence of the specific activity of Chernobyl-derived 134Cs, 137Cs and 106Ru was determined in vegetation and soil samples from an old spruce stand within a period of 600 days after the beginning of the radioactive fallout. The results show that 70% of the total activity of radiocesium and 60% of radioruthenium deposited in the spruce stand were retained initially in the canopy. They were removed from the needles and twigs as a result of weathering (rain, wind, litter fall) and transferred to the forest floor, but only rather slowly (half-lives in the canopy: radiocesium, 90 days for the period 0-130 days, 230 days for the period 130-600 days; radioruthenium, 95 days for the period 0-200 days). The transfer of radiocesium and ruthenium to the forest floor by litter-fall was small when compared with that of weathering by rain or wind (radiocesium 7%, radioruthenium 8%, with respect to the total activity deposited in the canopy). The total deposition of radiocesium and ruthenium in the spruce stand was higher by 20 and 24%, respectively, than that observed in nearby grassland. The deposition velocity of radiocesium in the spruce stand was estimated at 5.5 mm s-1, higher by a factor of 10 than the figure for grassland. Similar values were found for radioruthenium.

Accidents↗
PubMed1989

The propagation of the Chernobyl 131I impulse through the air- grass- animal- milk pathway in northwestern Greece.

A three-compartment (air- grass-milk) milk contamination model for 131I has been applied to atmospheric, grass and milk data, following the April 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Samples of ovine and bovine milk collected daily by a large dairy company in Ioannina (northwestern Greece), throughout the month of May 1986 have been employed. The contamination impulse in the area, which provides the input to the model, has been approximated by a first order gamma-variate curve. Transfer rates and decay constants have been extracted by fitting predictions of the model independently to each set of data (air, grass and milk). All model parameters obtained from more than one set of data show remarkable consistency. These parameters are used to calculate the transfer coefficients fm for the transport of radioiodine at equilibrium for sheep and cows.

Accidents↗
PubMed1990

Effect of dry deposition, washout and resuspension on radionuclide ratios after the Chernobyl accident.

The temporal variations of radionuclide ratios in air and deposition samples collected simultaneously at Munich-Neuherberg (F.R.G.) after the Chernobyl accident have been studied. Until 8 May 1986, the radionuclides investigated were 99Mo, 103Ru, 106Ru, 110mAg, 125Sb, 129mTe, 132Te, 131I, 134Cs, 137Cs, 140Ba, 141Ce and 144Ce. After 8 May, 99Mo, 110mAg, 125Sb, and the Ce isotopes were below the detection limits. Considerable temporal variations of the above radionuclides, relative to 137Cs, were observed in air as well as in deposition. In air the temporal variations reflect the arrival of different parts of the reactor plume with different elemental composition. In deposition, the temporal patterns were quite different from those in air for a given radionuclide. This is explained by varying contributions of dry and wet deposition. Until 8 May, the washout ratios of the above radionuclides covered a range from 240 to 5600, with smaller variations for all radionuclides within one event (e.g. 460-910), and larger variations from one event to another (e.g. 460-3300 for 137Cs). The dry deposition velocity of 137Cs was found to be 0.27 cm s-1, similar to that of 110mAg, aerosol 131I and 140Ba (0.37, 0.13 and 0.15 cm s-1). Another group of radionuclides includes 103Ru, 106Ru, 125Sb, total 131I and 132Te with dry deposition velocities of 0.08, 0.10, 0.07, 0.03 and 0.08 cm s-1 and with temporal variations in deposition which are quite different from those of the first group. From 8 May to the end of June, the washout ratios increased to values between 1500 and 24,000, with the exception of iodine, which had considerably lower washout ratios of between 37 and 4400. These later effects are explained by resuspension and, in the case of iodine, by remobilization of gaseous species.

Accidents↗
PubMed1991

Transfer of Chernobyl fallout radionuclides from feed to growing rabbits: cesium-137 balance.

Intake, excretion and retention of gamma-emitting radionuclides were assessed in male rabbits fed a radioactive pelleted diet (137Cs = 858 Bq kg-1 as fed) containing 40% dehydrated alfalfa meal contaminated by Chernobyl fallout. In order to evaluate radionuclide retention, an experiment was carried out on 33 animals as follows: nine rabbits were slaughtered at the beginning of the trial, six were fed a radioactive diet for 42 days, six a radioactive diet for 21 days, six a radioactive diet for 21 days and a normal diet (137Cs = 112 Bq kg-1 as fed) for the following 21 days and six a normal diet for 42 days. All the animals were housed in individual metabolism cages throughout the trial. All faeces and urine were collected and analyzed separately and live weight and feed intake were measured on a weekly basis. At the end of the trial all the animals were slaughtered and the activities of net body and muscles were determined. Cesium-137, 134Cs, 103Ru, 106Ru, 125Sb, 110mAg and 40K were measured by gamma spectroscopy. More than 85% of ingested cesium was excreted through faeces and urine (fecal much greater than urinary) and the retained 137Cs in the carcass of the more contaminated animals was only 3% of the total ingested. The concentration of total cesium in muscle reached a maximum value of 156 Bq kg-1, much lower than the EEC guideline (600 Bq kg-1), and the biological half-life for 137Cs was calculated to be 11 days. The feed-body accumulation factors were determined in net body and muscle.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

Analysis of DNA strand break induction and repair in plants from the vicinity of Chernobyl.

For 3 years following the Chernobyl accident, DNA repair efficiency was studied in irradiated and control populations of various plant species. Compared with the control populations, some irradiated populations exhibited increases in the yield of DNA single-strand breaks per unit dose of challenge radiation. The effect was registered in low-dose-rate alpha-irradiated populations, but was absent in plant populations growing in conditions of low-dose-rate beta-irradiation. The efficiency of single-strand DNA repair was identical in control and irradiated populations and approximated 100%.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

Cytogenetic effects of ionizing radiation in Crepis tectorum growing within 30 km of the Chernobyl atomic power station.

Cytogenetic effects of chronic irradiation in Crepis tectorum populations growing within 30 km of the Chernobyl atomic power station were determined by scoring the frequency of chromosome aberrations in first-mitosis-metaphases of root meristematic cells during seed germination. In the first year after the accident there were large differences in the distributions of radionuclides on the plots where the three studied populations were growing. Gamma-irradiation exposure rates were in the range 5-10 mR h-1 (beta-irradiation exposure rates were about 10 times higher). The highest frequency of cells with chromosome aberrations was 9.1% in Population 1, in which cells with multiple aberrations were often observed. In the second year after the accident, six populations were studied growing in plots with exposure rates ranging from 0.02 to 20 mR h-1. Chromosome aberrations were found in 1.4 and 2.2% of the cells at the two highest exposure rates. In a few cases, seedlings were observed where all cells of the root meristem had the same chromosome aberration; in 20 cases these aberrations were heterozygous and in one it was homozygous. The highest frequencies of such karyotypic alterations in the root were 6.2 and 6.6% at the two highest exposure rates. Reciprocal translocations, inversions and complex rearrangements with increased or decreased amounts of genetic material were registered among such changed karyotypes. The presence of plants with altered karyotypes may indicate the existence of active microevolutionary processes in chronically irradiated populations.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

Genetic disorders in mice exposed to radiation in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

Induced reciprocal translocations in spermatocytes of mice, either caught or exposed at the site, were observed at all levels of radioactive contamination around the Chernobyl nuclear power station. The frequency of reciprocal translocations was relatively low and increased linearly with increasing dose rate. Among 74 male mice exposed as early embryos, four reciprocal translocation heterozygotes were found. Furthermore, an increase in embryonic mortality and frequency of abnormal sperm heads was observed after termination of exposure, but these decreased rapidly with post-exposure time.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

The monitoring of herbaceous seeds in the 30-km zone of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Species of wild herbaceous plants growing over a period of 3 years under chronic irradiation resulting from the Chernobyl accident were studied. Examining the mass of 1000 seeds and their germination did not yield any significant differences between groups of seeds of the same species collected from different contaminated zones. Nor did the frequency of aberrant cells in roots of germinated seeds reveal any significant differences between zones. Seeds of Plantago lanceolata, growing in areas with higher levels of radiation, did appear to be more sensitive to additional gamma-irradiation.

Accidents↗
PubMed1992

Effects of radioactive fallout on soil animal populations in the 30 km zone of the Chernobyl atomic power station.

Studies were carried out during July and September 1986, April 1987, and October 1988. Radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl atomic power station (APS) accident induced catastrophic effects on populations of small pine-litter faunae within the 3 km zone around the station. Effects on soil faunae were not so marked due to shielding by the soil, or on litter faunae at the edge of the 30 km zone due to distance from the source. Thirty-gray doses did not directly affect adult animals in the soil and litter, but impacted their eggs and juveniles. Resident populations recovered slowly during the first year after the accident. Insect migration into the contaminated area was the primary source of soil animal population recovery. After 2-2.5 years, marked differences between populations in the contaminated and control areas were no longer found.

Accidents↗