Mutagenic potential assessment associated with human exposure to natural radioactivity.
Chemosphere
; 167: 36-43, 2017 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27705811
ABSTRACT
Lucrécia city, known to harbor a high cancer rate, is located in a semiarid region characterized by the presence of mineral reservoirs, facing a high exposure to metal and natural radioactivity. The present study aimed to assess the environmental scenario at a semiarid region located in Northeastern Brazil. Metal concentration, alpha and beta radiation, and cyanobacteria content in tap water along with indoor radon and gamma emitters (U, K and Th) concentrations were measured. In addition, mutagenic and nuclear instability effects were assessed using buccal micronucleus cytome assay. The study included five samplings corresponding to a period between 2007 and 2009. Drinking water from Lucrécia city presented levels of Mn, Ni and Cr along with cyanobacteria in concentrations one to four times higher than regulatory guidelines considered. Furthermore, high levels of all the tested radionuclides were found. A high percentage of the houses included in this study presented indoor radon concentrations over 100 Bq m-3. The mean annual effective dose from Lucrécia houses was six times higher than observed in a control region. The levels of exposure in most of the Lucrécia houses were classified as middle to high. A significant mutagenic effect, represented as an increase of micronuclei (MN) frequency and nuclear abnormalities as nuclear buds (NB), binucleated cells (BN), and pyknotic cells (PYC) were found. The results obtained highlight the role of high background radioactivity on the observed mutagenic effect and could help to explain the exacerbated cancer rate reported in this locality.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Contexto em Saúde:
2_ODS3
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Radioisótopos
/
Poluentes da Água
/
Radônio
/
Poluição do Ar em Ambientes Fechados
/
Poluentes Radioativos do Ar
/
Mutagênicos
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
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Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Chemosphere
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article