Same pollution sources for climate change might be hyperactivating the NLRP3 inflammasome and exacerbating neuroinflammation and SARS mortality.

We have reviewed a considerable amount of recent scientific papers relating inflammation caused by air pollution with chronic and severe medical conditions. Furthermore, there are evidences relating organ inflammation caused by not only outdoor long-term but also short-term inhaled radioisotopes contained in high polluted air or in household natural radioactive background aerosols, in addition to SARS-COV-2 attached to bioaerosols, which are related with a worst evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome patients. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production induced by the interaction with environmental ionizing radiation contained in pollution is pointed out as a critical mechanism that predispose mainly to elder population, but not excluding young subjects, presenting previous chronic conditions of lung inflammation or neuroinflammation, which can lead to the most serious consequences.

Evaluation of ionizing radiation as a risk factor for the incidence of breast cancer: long-term analysis after the cesium-137 accident in Goiânia, Brazil. An ecological study.

BACKGROUND: The largest radiological accident to occur in any urban area happened in Goiânia, Brazil, in 1987. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between breast cancer incidence and ionizing radiation levels. DESIGN AND SETTING: Ecological study among residents of the city of Goiânia, Brazil. METHODS: The central region of Goiânia, with seven major sources of contamination from cesium-137, was defined as the study area. The addresses of women diagnosed with breast cancer were identified between 2001 and 2010. The data were geographically referenced and, using census data, the annual averages of crude incidence rates were estimated. The existence of clusters of new cases was ascertained by means of the Moran index. Correlations of radiometric measurements with the incidence were assessed using unconditional linear regression. RESULTS: A total of 4,105 new cases were identified, of which 2,233 were in the study area, and of these, 1,286 (57.59%) were georeferenced. The gross rates of total and referenced cases were 102.91 and 71.86/100,000 women, respectively. These were close to the average for Brazilian state capitals, which is 79.37/100,000 women. The cluster analysis showed slight correlations in three small sets of census tracts, but these were far from the sources of contamination. The scatter plot of points and the R2 value close to zero indicated that there was no association between the variables. CONCLUSION: This study reinforces the hypothesis that the ionizing radiation levels to which women living in Goiânia are now exposed to are not associated with the onset of new cases of breast cancer.

Evaluation of ionizing radiation as a risk factor for the incidence of breast cancer: long-term analysis after the cesium-137 accident in Goiânia, Brazil. An ecological study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The largest radiological accident to occur in any urban area happened in Goiânia, Brazil, in 1987. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between breast cancer incidence and ionizing radiation levels. DESIGN AND SETTING: Ecological study among residents of the city of Goiânia, Brazil. METHODS: The central region of Goiânia, with seven major sources of contamination from cesium-137, was defined as the study area. The addresses of women diagnosed with breast cancer were identified between 2001 and 2010. The data were geographically referenced and, using census data, the annual averages of crude incidence rates were estimated. The existence of clusters of new cases was ascertained by means of the Moran index. Correlations of radiometric measurements with the incidence were assessed using unconditional linear regression. RESULTS: A total of 4,105 new cases were identified, of which 2,233 were in the study area, and of these, 1,286 (57.59%) were georeferenced. The gross rates of total and referenced cases were 102.91 and 71.86/100,000 women, respectively. These were close to the average for Brazilian state capitals, which is 79.37/100,000 women. The cluster analysis showed slight correlations in three small sets of census tracts, but these were far from the sources of contamination. The scatter plot of points and the R2 value close to zero indicated that there was no association between the variables. CONCLUSION: This study reinforces the hypothesis that the ionizing radiation levels to which women living in Goiânia are now exposed to are not associated with the onset of new cases of breast cancer.

Background ionizing radiation and semen parameters of men with reproductive problems.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The male reproductive system constitutes a set of tissues which are particularly sensitive to external factors. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between background radioactivity and the quality of the semen of the men who have reported to the infertility treatment facility in 2000-2016 in the Lublin region of eastern Poland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The radioactivity of the ground-level air layer obtained from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management in Wlodawa in the Lublin region was analysed. 4,250 spermiograms of patients who reported to the treatment facility for the first time due to infertility were analysed and correlated to background radioactivity in the Lublin region in 2000-2016. RESULTS: A long-term decrease in the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa of the patients was observed (r=-0.970; p<0.001 in 2000-2009 and r=-0.925; p=0.003 in 2010-2016). Men's age correlated negatively with sperm motility (r=-0.164; p=0.009) and morphology (r=-0.186; p=0.009). The percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology was lowered by beta-isotopes of artificial origin in the air in 2000-2009 (r=-0.655; p=0.040) and by the exposure to gamma radiation of the ground-level atmosphere in 2010-2016 (r=-0.676; p=0.048). The percentage of sperm vitality was lowered by gamma radiation in the atmosphere (r=-0.636; p=0.006), but improved by beta isotopes in precipitation (r=0.686; p=0.002) in the whole of the analyzed period. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa in patients who reported to the infertility treatment depends not only on the age of patient, but also on beta-isotopes of artificial origin and gamma radiation in the atmosphere. Beta isotopes in precipitation affect the improvement of sperm vitality.

[COMPLEX STUDY OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF TSKHALTUBO RADON WATER INHALATION].

The effect of EMF of high frequencies (mobile phones and computers) and the action of radon therapeutic procedures (phenomenological and influencing therapeutic factors) is not still generally known. In addition, we are constantly under the influence of different EMF frequencies, the study of which also deserves attention. The aim of the work is detailed analysis of alpha radiation Tskhaltubo water effect. The subject of the study was 25 patients. The group took the inhalation procedure of air radon baths which was 36-370C, and radon concentration 37.0 Bq/m3. The conducted quantities and qualitative analyses show, that radon inhalation takes an active part in metabolism of biological active components: catecholamine's, amines and free amino acids. Biochemical experiments showed the normalization tendency of composition of these necessary blood-components after 10th day radon-therapeutic inhalation procedure.

Fungal spore involvement in the resuspension of radiocaesium in summer.

We observed the atmospheric resuspension of radiocaesium, derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, at Namie, a heavily contaminated area of Fukushima, since 2012. During the survey periods from 2012 to 2015, the activity concentrations of radiocaesium in air ranged from approximately 10-5 to 10-2 Bq per m3 and were higher in the warm season than in the cold season. Electron microscopy showed that the particles collected on filters in summer were predominantly of biological origin (bioaerosols), with which the observed radiocaesium activity concentration varied. We conducted an additional aerosol analysis based on fluorescent optical microscopic observation and high-throughput DNA sequencing technique to identify bioaerosols at Namie in 2015 summer. The concentrations of bioaerosols fluctuated the order of 106 particles per m3, and the phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota (true Fungi) accounted for approximately two-thirds of the bioaerosols. Moreover, the fungal spore concentration in air was positively correlated with the radiocaesium concentration at Namie in summer 2016. The bioaerosol emissions from Japanese mixed forests in the temperate zone predominately included fungal cells, which are known to accumulate radiocaesium, and should be considered an important scientific issue that must be addressed.

Does the use of reference organisms in radiological impact assessments provide adequate protection of all the species within an environment?

Non-human biota in radiological risk assessment is typically evaluated using Reference Organisms (ROs) or Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs), for all exposure situations. However, it still remains open whether the use of an increased number of species would improve the ability to demonstrate protectiveness of the environment. In this paper, the representativeness of a broader list of fauna is tested in terms of the geometrical characteristics and habits for radiological risk assessments in the case of routine discharges from a nuclear installation: the Cadarache centre. A list of terrestrial animal species, compiled from ecological inventories carried out around it was evaluated. A first survey around the centre inventoried >400 terrestrial fauna species, which were then filtered to reduce the number to 28 species for which dose assessments were carried out. Despite the differences between geometries for those site-specific species and the ROs (including RAPs), the absorbed dose rates calculated for both were very close (within a factor of two). Regardless of the studied organism, the absorbed dose rates calculated for the discharge scenario were mainly related to internal exposure, particularly for tritium (3H) and carbon 14 (14C), showing that there would be an acceptable dose rates difference between species from the same organism group. Additionally, sensitivity analyses were conducted to determine if the use of generic, predefined ROs was enough to assure an adequate protection of endangered species. It was observed that for every radionuclide the difference between assessments for site-specific species and ROs are unlikely to exceed a factor of 3. Hence, the result of this evaluation indicates that the use of generic ROs for non-human biota radiological risk assessment covers sufficiently other species, including endangered ones.

Chornobyl 30 years later: Radiation, pregnancies, and developmental anomalies in Rivne, Ukraine.

In the 30 years since the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster, there is evidence of persistent levels of incorporated ionizing radiation in adults, children and pregnant women in the surrounding area. Measured levels of Cesium-137 vary by region, and may be influenced by dietary and water sources as well as proximity to nuclear power plants. Since 2000, comprehensive, population-based birth defects monitoring has been performed in selected regions of Ukraine to evaluate trends and to generate hypotheses regarding potential causes of unexplained variations in defect rates. Significantly higher rates of microcephaly, neural tube defects, and microphthalmia have been identified in selected regions of Ukraine collectively known as Polissia compared to adjacent regions collectively termed non-Polissia, and these significantly higher rates were evident particularly in the years 2000-2009. The Polissia regions have also demonstrated higher mean whole body counts of Cesium-137 compared to values in individuals residing in other non-Polissia regions. The potential causal relationship between persistent ionizing radiation pollution and selected congenital anomaly rates supports the need for a more thorough, targeted investigation of the sources of persistent ionizing radiation and the biological plausibility of a potential teratogenic effect.

Assessment of Agricultural Workers' Exposure Due to Crop Harvesting Operations Within the Areas Affected by Radioactive Contamination.

Implementation of field experiments took place in two sites located in the Bragin district of the Gomel region, Belarus, i.e. a field in the evacuation zone and a private plot of land in a residential area of thedistrict. The objective of the research was to study the levels of radioactive contamination of air due to the dust raised up during crop harvesting operations. Comparative dose assessment was done to assess external exposure and committed effective doses of internal exposure due to inhalation of (241)Am, (238,239+240)Pu, (137)Cs and (90)Sr by agricultural workers involved in dust-generating harvesting operations. According to the results, the dominant contributors (93-97%) to internal exposure of agricultural workers both on a private plot of land and in the area of evacuation, were the transuranic elements (241)Am and (238,239,240)Pu. In the context of the total doses received by the harvest-workers, the dominant contribution belonged to external exposure which was 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than the levels of internal exposure due to inhalation of radionuclides.

Distribution of 222Rn concentration in an inhabited area adjacent to the Aja granitic heights of Hail Province, Saudi Arabia.

Radon-222 has been measured in groundwater, dwellings, and atmosphere of an inhabited area adjacent to the granitic Aja heights of Hail province, Saudi Arabia. The measurements were carried out in the field using a RAD7 instrument. Twenty-eight water samples, collected from drilled wells scattered in the region, were analyzed. Radon-222 concentration ranged from 2.5-95 kBq m(-3) with an average value of about 30.3 kBq m(-3). The higher values were found in wells drawing water from granitic aquifers. Indoor 222Rn was measured in 20 dwellings of rural areas in Hail city and other towns. Concentrations ranged from 12-125.6 Bq m(-3), with an average value of 54.6 Bq m(-3). Outdoor air 222Rn was measured at 16 sites, with values ranging from 6.2-13.3 Bq m(-3), with an average value of 10.5 Bq m(-3). The estimated average effective dose due to inhalation of 222Rn released from water was 0.08 mSv y(-1). The estimated average annual effective dose due to indoor 222Rn was 1.35 mSv, which lies below the effective dose range (3-10 mSv) given as the recommended action level. Based on the average dose rate values, the excess lifetime cancer risk values were estimated as 69.8 × 10(-4) due to indoor radon and 13.4 × 10(-4) due to outdoor radon.

Variation of indoor radon concentrations in two-storey houses in Nowshera District, Pakistan.

A study was performed for the measurement of indoor radon concentration in two-storey houses in district Nowshera in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This area was not previously surveyed for such kind of study. The aim was to find some correlation of radon levels in first and second storey houses in the area. The measurements were carried out for 1 y from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2013 using CR-39 detector. The area was divided into four parts, namely, Jhangera, Nowshera city, Akora Khattak and Pabbi. In the first storey houses, radon concentration ranged from 29 to 103 Bq m(-3) with the mean value of 64 ± 12 Bq m(-3) and that in the second storey houses ranged from 25 to 92 Bq m(-3) with the mean value of 56 ± 11 Bq m(-3). Relatively higher values of indoor radon levels in the first stories than the second stories were observed in all four parts of the study area. The effective doses received by the residents of the area were estimated for each part. The mean annual effective doses received by the inhabitants of the area from indoor radon ranged from 0.68 to 2.88 mSv with the mean value of 1.68 ± 0.32 mSv. The doses received by the people of the area were within the ICRP-65 recommended range (3-10 mSv).

[Residential radon and lung cancer. An ecologic study in Galicia, Spain]. / Radón residencial y cáncer de pulmón. Un estudio ecológico en Galicia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Residential radon is the second cause of lung cancer and the first in never smokers. Galicia is a high radon emission area. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between municipal lung cancer mortality and residential radon in Galician municipalities. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We performed an ecologic study including 192 municipalities with at least 3 residential radon measurements. The observed number of lung cancer deaths was obtained from the Galician Mortality Registry. Afterwards, we calculated the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of lung cancer for males and females for the period comprising 1980-2009. Median municipal residential radon concentrations were correlated with lung cancer SMRs. RESULTS: Median residential radon concentration for the included municipalities was 75 Bq/m(3), with an interquartile range of 40.7 to 154 Bq/m(3). The correlation between lung cancer SMRs and municipal radon concentration was statistically significant for males (P=.023) whereas it did not reach statistical significance for females (P=.087). CONCLUSION: There exists an association between municipal residential radon and lung cancer mortality in Galicia for males, though for women the association is not statistically significant. These results suggest that residential radon could raise the risk of lung cancer in males, though for females no association is evident.

Radon and lung cancer: assessing and mitigating the risk.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. Its progenies emit alpha particles capable of causing tissue damage. Radon exposure is estimated to be the second most common cause of lung cancer in the United States. Management of patients with a history of radon exposure should involve a lung cancer specialist.

Release, deposition and elimination of radiocesium ((137)Cs) in the terrestrial environment.

Radionuclide contamination in terrestrial ecosystems has reached a dangerous level. The major artificial radionuclide present in the environment is (137)Cs, which is released as a result of weapon production related to atomic projects, accidental explosions of nuclear power plants and other sources, such as reactors, evaporation ponds, liquid storage tanks, and burial grounds. The release of potentially hazardous radionuclides (radiocesium) in recent years has provided the opportunity to conduct multidisciplinary studies on their fate and transport. Radiocesium's high fission yield and ease of detection made it a prime candidate for early radio-ecological investigations. The facility setting provides a diverse background for the improved understanding of various factors that contribute toward the fate and transfer of radionuclides in the terrestrial ecosystem. In this review, we summarize the significant environmental radiocesium transfer factors to determine the damaging effects of radiocesium on terrestrial ecosystem. It has been found that (137)Cs can trace the transport of other radionuclides that have a high affinity for binding to soil particles (silts and clays). Possible remedial methods are also discussed for contaminated terrestrial systems. This review will serve as a guideline for future studies of the fate and transport of (137)Cs in terrestrial environments in the wake of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011.

Effect of the duration time of a nuclear accident on radiological health consequences.

This study aimed to quantify the effect of duration time of a nuclear accident on the radiation dose of a densely populated area and the resulting acute health effects. In the case of nuclear accidents, the total emissions of radioactive materials can be classified into several categories. Therefore, the release information is very important for the assessment of risk to the public. We confirmed that when the duration time of the emissions are prolonged to 7 hours, the concentrations of radioactive substances in the ambient air are reduced by 50% compared to that when the duration time of emission is one hour. This means that the risk evaluation using only the first wind direction of an accident is very conservative, so it has to be used as a screening level for the risk assessment. Furthermore, it is judged that the proper control of the emission time of a nuclear accident can minimize the health effects on residents.

The application of the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay on peripheral blood lymphocytes for the assessment of genome damage in long-term residents of areas with high radon concentration.

Estimating the effects of small doses of ionising radiation on DNA is one of the most important problems in modern biology. Different cytogenetic methods exist to analyse DNA damage; the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) for human peripheral blood lymphocytes is a simple, cheap and informative cytogenetic method that can be used to detect genotoxic-related markers. With respect to previous studies on radiation-induced genotoxicity, children are a poorly studied group, as evidenced by the few publications in this area. In this study, we assessed radon genotoxic effects by counting micronuclei (MN), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs) and nuclear buds (NBUDs) in the lymphocytes of children who are long-term residents from areas with high radon concentrations. In the exposed group, radon was found to cause significant cytogenetic alterations. We propose that this method can be employed for biomonitoring to screen for a variety of measures.

Physical conditions of a house and their effects on measured radon levels: data from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, 2010-2011.

Concentrations of radon in homes are thought to be dependent on several factors, including the presence of certain physical conditions of the house that act as entry points for this colorless, odorless gas. Drains and sump pits are currently sealed as part of radon mitigation, but doing so may cause drainage problems and mold. The authors attempted to determine if specific attributes and physical conditions of homes are associated with measured residential concentrations of radon. Radon tests were conducted in 96 participating homes in rural Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, November 2010-February 2011. Samplers were placed and a walk-through survey was conducted. Test devices were analyzed by a New Jersey certified radon testing laboratory and results compared to survey data. Overall, 50% of houses with a perimeter drain and 30% of houses with a sump pit exceeded the New Jersey and federal radon action level of 4.0 picocuries per liter, and 47% of homes with both a sump and a perimeter "French" drain exceeded this action level. The authors' results suggested certain physical conditions act as pathways allowing radon entry into homes. Results could be used by local and state agencies to start local initiatives, e.g., increased testing or to seal these components as partial mitigation.

A look at the grouping effect on population-level risk assessment of radon-induced lung cancer.

On the basis of considerable knowledge gained by studying health effects in uranium and other underground miners who worked in radon-rich environments, radon exposure has been identified as a cause of lung cancer. Recent pooled analyses of residential studies have shown that radon poses a similar risk of causing lung cancer in the general public when exposure occurs at generally lower levels found in homes. With the increasing accessibility of statistical data via the internet, people are performing their own analyses and asking why, in some cases, the lung cancer occurrence at the community level does not correlate to the radon levels. This study uses statistical data available to the general public from official websites and performs simple analyses. The results clearly show the difficulty in linking observed lung cancer incidence rates at the provincial/territorial level, with possible cause, such as smoking or radon exposure. Even the effect of smoking, a well-documented cause of lung cancer, can be overlooked or misinterpreted if the data being investigated is too general (i.e., summary data at population level) or is influenced by other factors. These difficulties with simple comparisons are one of the main reasons that epidemiological studies of lung cancer incidence and radon exposure requires the use of cohorts or case controls at the individual level as opposed to the more easily performed ecological studies at the population level.

[Flow analysis, pregnancy outcomes in the second generation of descendants, ancestors of whom were in the area of radiation exposure].

The estimation of pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn state of the offspring in the second generation (study group), the progenitors of which were in the area of radiation exposure. The study group included data on 112 women. In the control group were assigned 53 women who themselves, their parents and grandparents were not exposed to ionizing radiation. Extragenital pathology is characterized by the predominance of the main group of diseases of the circulatory system, urinary system, blood and blood-forming organs, diseases of the endocrine system. Among gynecological diseases prevailed chronic inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs. The high rate of complications during pregnancy, premature birth, subcompensated form of placental insufficiency in patients of the main group.