EURADOS project on the impact of the proposed ICRU operational dose quantities.

Following the publication of the joint The International Commissions on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and on Radiological Protection (ICRP) report on new operational quantities for radiation protection, the European Dosimetry Group (EURADOS) have carried out an initial evaluation. The EURADOS report analyses the impact that the new quantities will have on: radiation protection practice; calibration and reference fields; European and national regulation; international standards and, especially, dosemeter and instrument design. The task group included experienced scientists drawn from across the various EURADOS working groups.

Cell to Cell Variability of Radiation-Induced Foci: Relation between Observed Damage and Energy Deposition.

Most studies that aim to understand the interactions between different types of photon radiation and cellular DNA assume homogeneous cell irradiation, with all cells receiving the same amount of energy. The level of DNA damage is therefore generally determined by averaging it over the entire population of exposed cells. However, evaluating the molecular consequences of a stochastic phenomenon such as energy deposition of ionizing radiation by measuring only an average effect may not be sufficient for understanding some aspects of the cellular response to this radiation. The variance among the cells associated with this average effect may also be important for the behaviour of irradiated tissue. In this study, we accurately estimated the distribution of the number of radiation-induced γH2AX foci (RIF) per cell nucleus in a large population of endothelial cells exposed to 3 macroscopic doses of gamma rays from 60Co. The number of RIF varied significantly and reproducibly from cell to cell, with its relative standard deviation ranging from 36% to 18% depending on the macroscopic dose delivered. Interestingly, this relative cell-to-cell variability increased as the dose decreased, contrary to the mean RIF count per cell. This result shows that the dose effect, in terms of the number of DNA lesions indicated by RIF is not as simple as a purely proportional relation in which relative SD is constant with dose. To analyse the origins of this observed variability, we calculated the spread of the specific energy distribution for the different target volumes and subvolumes in which RIF can be generated. Variances, standard deviations and relative standard deviations all changed similarly from dose to dose for biological and calculated microdosimetric values. This similarity is an important argument that supports the hypothesis of the conservation of the association between the number of RIF per nucleus and the specific energy per DNA molecule. This comparison allowed us to calculate a volume of 1.6 µm3 for which the spread of the specific energy distribution could explain the entire variability of RIF counts per cell in an exposed cell population. The definition of this volume may allow to use a microdosimetric quantity to predict heterogeneity in DNA damage. Moreover, this value is consistent with the order of magnitude of the volume occupied by the hydrated sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA molecule, which is the part of the DNA molecule responsible for strand breaks.

EPR retrospective dosimetry with fingernails: report on first application cases.

For localized irradiation to hands, in case of sources accidentally handled, it is very difficult to estimate the dose distribution by calculation. Doses may reach several tens of grays, and the dose distribution is usually very heterogeneous. Until recently, doses in such situations could be estimated only by analysis of bone biopsies using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. This technique was used previously on surgical wastes or after amputation of a finger. In this case, the dose information was available in one or a few locations on the hand only, due to the limited number of biopsy fragments usually collected. The idea to measure free radicals (FRs) induced by radiation in nails to estimate a dose is not new, but up to now, no application cases were reported. As a matter of fact, the EPR analysis of nails is complex due to the presence of intrinsic signals and parasitic signals induced by the mechanical stress (when nails are collected), which overlaps the radio-induced components. In addition, the radio-induced FRs identified up to now are unstable and very sensitive to humidity. In these conditions, it was difficult to foresee any application for dosimetry with fingernails. Recently, stable radio-induced FRs in nails has been identified and an associated protocol for dose assessment developed. This protocol has been applied by the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire on fingernail samples from victims of three different radiological accidents that occurred between 2008 and 2012 in different places.

A single formula to describe radiation-induced protein relocalization: towards a mathematical definition of individual radiosensitivity.

Immunofluorescence with antibodies against DNA damage repair and signaling protein is revolutionarising the estimation of the genotoxic risk. Indeed, a number of stress response proteins relocalize in nucleus as identifiable foci whose number, pattern and appearance/disappearance rate depend on several parameters such as the stress nature, dose, time and individual factor. Few authors proposed biomathematical tools to describe them in a unified formula that would be relevant for all the relocalizable proteins. Based on our two previous reports in this Journal (Foray et al., 2005; Gastaldo et al., 2008), we considered that foci response to stress is composed of a recognition and a repair phase, both described by an inverse power function provided from a Euler's Gamma distribution. The resulting unified formula called "Bodgi's function" is able to describe appearance/disappearance kinetics of nuclear foci after any condition of genotoxic stress. By applying the Bodgi's formula to DNA damage repair data from 45 patients treated with radiotherapy, we deduced a classification of human radiosensitivity based on objective molecular criteria, notably like the number of unrepaired DNA double-strand breaks and the radiation-induced nucleo-shuttling of the ATM kinase.

Workshop on 'Dosimetric Issues in the Medical use of Ionising Radiation'.

A joint workshop was initiated by EURADOS based on the work programme of the working group 'Radiation protection dosimetry of medical staff'. The workshop was held within the framework of the regular EURADOS Annual Meeting series, of which the 2008 event was held in Paris (AM2008). The topic 'Dosimetric Issues in the Medical Use of Ionising Radiation' is very broad, and is covered by the different European projects of FP6 and FP7. This topic is also a major part of the current activities of the French Society of Medical Physic (SFPM). By promoting this joint initiative, AM2008 was an opportunity for the wider scientific community with interests in this area to meet and follow the progress in the different fields. This report introduces the themes addressed during the workshop, from which most of the papers presented in this volume are included.

EX vivo ESR measurements associated with Monte Carlo calculations for accident dosimetry: application to the 2001 Georgian accident.

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and the Monte Carlo (MC) technique were jointly applied to the physical dose reconstruction of the accident that occurred on 2 December 2001 in Georgia. Three people were exposed to two very-high-activity (2.6 x 10(15) Bq) 90Sr sources. Following this exposure, the two most seriously affected victims exhibited severe radiological injuries localised in the back as well as a haematopoietic syndrome. The information concerning the circumstances of the accident in terms of sequences of irradiation and the exposure time was not clearly established. The physical dose reconstruction of the accident was performed for one victim, treated in France, using both MC simulations and ESR measurements made on one vertebra and two rib samples removed from the victim for medical reasons. The complementary nature of the two tools made it possible to estimate the dose distribution within the body with reasonable accuracy and helped to develop the treatment strategy.

The angular dependence of an Si energy deposition spectrometer response at several radiation sources.

An MDU-Liulin spectrometer based on an Si-diode was mainly used during the last few years with the goal to use them for measurements onboard aircraft. To investigate its ability to obtain such measurements, the detector was tested in some radiation reference fields, like 60Co and other photon beams, neutrons of an AmBe and 252Cf sources and in high-energy radiation fields at CERN. Due to the high geometrical asymmetry of the Si-diode semiconductor, an angular dependence of the response would be expected. This work presents analyses and discusses the results of angular dependence studies obtained at the different radiation sources mentioned. It was found that these angular dependences vary with the type and energy of radiation. The influence of these variations on the use as a dosimeter onboard aircraft is also studied and discussed.

Methods for estimating radiation doses received by commercial aircrew.

INTRODUCTION: Radiation doses received onboard aircraft are monitored in Europe to protect aircrew in accordance with a European Union directive. The French Aviation Authorities have developed a system called SIEVERT, using calculation codes to monitor effective radiation doses. METHODS: For the galactic cosmic ray component, a 3-D world map of effective dose rates is computed using available operational codes. Detailed flight plans are used to ensure sufficient precision. For the solar particle event component, a semi-empirical model called SiGLE has been developed to calculate a time-dependent map of effective dose rates in the course of the event. SiGLE is based on particle transport code results and measurements during solar particle events onboard Concorde airplanes. RESULTS: We present a comparison of the calculated effective radiation dose and measured dose equivalent for various flights onboard Air France aircraft. The agreement is within 15%, which is about the precision of the state-of-the-art dosimetric measurements. Meteorological effects on the dose calculation appear to be negligible. Preliminary results based on solar particle events observed since 1942 with ionization chambers and neutron monitors are given. CONCLUSIONS: The present analysis shows that for the galactic cosmic ray component, monthly world maps based on neutron monitor observations are sufficient to ensure a precision of about 20% on the dose estimate for each flight. For the past 40 yr, according to the model SiGLE, none of the solar events has given an effective radiation dose larger than 1 mSv for flights on the most exposed routes.