Evaluation of uranium concentration in the blood breast cancer women with CR-39 detector.

Some governorates of Iraq are considered as uranium-contaminated areas. The spread of cancerous tumors injuries was recorded in different parts of Iraq at very high rates. As cancer is closely related to high level of uranium in the blood, this study was conducted on women with breast cancer to evaluate the uranium concentrations in their blood. The aim of the study is to assess the concentration of uranium in the blood Iraqi breast cancer women to establish reference values for the levels of toxic uranium in their blood and the possibility of getting breast cancer. A total of 39 blood samples were collected from breast cancer women and a control group. CR-39 track detector has been used to evaluate the uranium concentration in blood samples by placing a drop of blood on the detectors and calculating the uranium concentrations by irradiating the detectors with a neutron source. Statistical analysis is achieved utilizing SPSS programme. The outcomes show elevated levels of uranium concentration in the blood of women with breast cancer, which was found to be 92±0.6 ngL-1 compared to the control group (40 ±0.4 ngL-1), and internationally published data. The results show that the uranium concentration in the blood of breast cancer women is higher than those in the control group and some of the globally published data. This indicated that there is a relationship between the elevated concentrations of uranium in blood and the risk of getting breast cancer.

Assessment of uranium concentration in blood of Iraqi females diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cancer is a widespread significant health problem in Iraq and contributes 11% to total deaths. Throughout the Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003, about 1200 tons of ammunition were dropped around Iraq. After the wars, cancer incidence in Iraq is about 7,000 to 8,000 cancers cases per year, and the overall incidence of lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer, and lung cancer has increased twofold and even tripled, as compared to the time before the wars. This increase could result from environmental pollution with radioactive materials including uranium, as cancer can be caused by ionizing radiation. To investigate this hypothesis, uranium concentration in the blood of 64 Iraqi females has been measured by means of CR-39 track etch detectors (42 blood samples collected from females diagnosed with breast cancer and 22 blood samples from females without breast cancer). The results show that the uranium concentrations ranged from 19.1 ± 0.3 to 238.4 ± 0.4 with an average value of 94.9 ± 5.0 ng L-1 in the blood of women with breast cancer and from 5.2 ± 0.2 to 18.7 ± 0.04 with an average value of 10.5 ± 0.1 ng L-1 in the blood of women without breast cancer. In comparison with the literature data, elevated levels of uranium concentration were recorded in both groups, and significantly higher average uranium concentrations were found in the blood of women with breast cancer as compared to those in the blood samples of women without breast cancer. It is concluded that there is a correlation between the incidence of breast cancer in Iraqi women and elevated levels of uranium concentrations in their blood. Whether this is a casual relationship is unclear, because cancer can be caused by various carcinogens, including environmental pollution in the region.

Uranium, Thorium, Potassium, and Cesium Radionuclides Concentrations in Desert Truffles from the Governorate of Samawah in Southern Iraq.

Studies have been conducted in some southern Iraqi governorates to measure the radioactive contamination in the soil and have revealed that these areas are contaminated with radioactive materials. In these test sites, where many military operations have been conducted and that may have been affected by the Chernobyl accident, pollution and its impact on the truffle crop have been examined. Truffles are fungi that grow in the ground and can be contaminated by radiation from polluted soil. Uranium, thorium, potassium, and cesium activities were analyzed in truffles collected from the desert of Samawah governorate in the southern part of Iraq, and the results were compared with global values. The radionuclide activities were measured with a high-purity germanium detector. The average activities of 238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs were 3.9500, 2.5300, 260.36, and 1.7800 Bq kg-1 dry biomass, respectively. These results indicate that radionuclide activities are low and that desert truffles are suitable for human consumption.