RESUMEN
Radon is the second most important risk factor for lung cancer after tobacco smoking. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, the values of indoor radon activity concentrations are considerably higher than global average values and it is a highest level among East Asian countries. The aim of our study is to identify novel biomarkers for lung cancer risk in high radon areas using a proteomic approach. In our transitional study, a total of 81 participants of non-smokers were examined, consist of 25 lung cancer patients (LC), 16 healthy controls from low levels of natural radiation areas (LLNRA) and 40 healthy controls from high levels of natural radiation areas (HLNRA). The results showed that a total of 799 differentially expressed proteins were identified. Among these, a total of 25 proteins were observed in both LC and HLNRA, but not in LINRA. Owing to the results obtained from this study, we also point out the research direction regarding the validation of some new candidate protein as a biomarker to screen population with high risk for lung cancer in the area with high levels of radon.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Radiactivos del Aire/efectos adversos , Contaminación del Aire Interior/efectos adversos , Biomarcadores/análisis , Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Inducidas por Radiación/diagnóstico , Proteoma/análisis , Radón/análisis , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Femenino , Vivienda , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/sangre , Neoplasias Pulmonares/etiología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Neoplasias Inducidas por Radiación/sangre , Neoplasias Inducidas por Radiación/etiología , Fumar/efectos adversos , Tailandia , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Thailand is predominantly an agricultural country. The Northern Region occupies the second largest cultivated land area in the country. To establish baseline data for future environmental monitoring, seventy-nine plant samples including vegetables, fruits and tobaccos and their relevant soils were collected from the major plantation zones of Northern Thailand. Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in the samples were determined using gamma-ray spectrometry technique. The median activity concentrations of 226Ra and 228Ra in the soil samples were higher than worldwide value, while as those of 40K were comparable with worldwide value. There was a large variation and non-uniform distribution in the soil samples. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K in the plant samples varied widely within plants and between species and were very low compared to their relevant soils. A decreasing trend of their activity concentration has been observed in the order leaf > stem > rhizome/root (as found in galangal); and leaf > stalk/stem (as found in lemongrass).
Asunto(s)
Productos Agrícolas/efectos de la radiación , Radioisótopos de Potasio/análisis , Monitoreo de Radiación/métodos , Radio (Elemento)/análisis , Contaminantes Radiactivos del Suelo/análisis , Dosis de Radiación , Espectrometría gamma , TailandiaRESUMEN
Urine, hair and nail samples were collected from a population of both sex aged from 40 to 87 years in Niska Banja (227 km south of Belgrade, Serbia) with a high level of natural radioactivity (HLNRA). To assess and monitor the public exposure, urine samples for each subject (24 h period) were collected and concentration of uranium (U) was analysed using alpha-particle spectrometry. Human hair and nails considered as bio-indicators of the public exposure to radionuclides over a long period of months or even years and concentration of U was determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The mean concentrations of U in urine, hair and nail were 123 ng/L, 17 ng/g and 8 ng/g, respectively. There was a large variation and may be due to geological origin.
Asunto(s)
Radiación de Fondo , Cabello/metabolismo , Uñas/metabolismo , Exposición a la Radiación/análisis , Monitoreo de Radiación/métodos , Uranio/análisis , Urinálisis/métodos , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , SerbiaRESUMEN
The aim of this study was to provide the baseline data information on natural radioactivities in vegetables and fruits produced and consumed locally in the areas of potential nuclear power plant sites in Thailand. Four provinces (Prajuab-Kirikhan, Chumphon, Surat-Thani and Nakhon-Si-thammarat) were selected for collection of native vegetables and fruits samples, together with their corresponding soils. The activities of (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (40)K and (210)Po were determined in all these samples. The obtained results for (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (40)K and (210)Po for all vegetable and fruit samples were in the range of 1-34, 1-108, 32-4392 and 0.2-47 Bq kg(-1), respectively, which were much lower than those obtained for their corresponding soils.
Asunto(s)
Radiación de Fondo , Contaminación Radiactiva de Alimentos/análisis , Frutas/química , Radioisótopos/análisis , Contaminantes Radiactivos del Suelo/análisis , Verduras/química , Análisis de los Alimentos/métodos , Dosis de Radiación , Monitoreo de Radiación/métodos , Valores de Referencia , TailandiaRESUMEN
Human hair and nails can be considered as bio-indicators of the public exposure to certain natural radionuclides and other toxic metals over a long period of months or even years. The level of elements in hair and nails usually reflect their levels in other tissues of body. Niska Banja, a spa town located in southern Serbia, with locally high natural background radiation was selected for the study. To assess public exposure to the trace elements, hair and nail samples were collected and analyzed. The concentrations of uranium, thorium and some trace and toxic elements (Mn, Ni, Cu, Sr, Cd, and Cs) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). U and Th concentrations in hair varied from 0.0002 to 0.0771 µg/g and from 0.0002 to 0.0276 µg/g, respectively. The concentrations in nails varied from 0.0025 to 0.0447 µg/g and from 0.0023 to 0.0564 µg/g for U and Th, respectively. We found significant correlations between some elements in hair and nails. Also indications of spatial clustering of high values could be found. However, this phenomenon as well as the large variations in concentrations of heavy metals in hair and nail could not be explained. As hypotheses, we propose possible exposure pathways which may explain the findings, but the current data does not allow testing them.
Asunto(s)
Monitoreo del Ambiente , Torio/análisis , Oligoelementos/análisis , Uranio/análisis , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Cabello/química , Humanos , Masculino , Espectrometría de Masas , Persona de Mediana Edad , Monitoreo de Radiación , SerbiaRESUMEN
The possible consequences of the use of depleted uranium (DU) used in Balkan conflicts in 1995 and 1999 for the people and the environment of this reason need attention. The heavy metal content in human hair may serve as a good indicator of dietary, environmental and occupational exposures to the metal compounds. The present work summarises the distribution of uranium and some selected trace metals such as Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd and Cs in the scalp hair of inhabitants from Balkans exposed to DU directly and indirectly, i.e. Han Pijesak, Bratoselce and Gornja Stubla areas. Except U and Cs, all other metals were compared with the worldwide reported values of occupationally unexposed persons. Uranium concentrations show a wide variation ranging from 0.9 ± 0.05 to 449 ± 12 µg kg(-1). Although hair samples were collected from Balkan conflict zones, uranium isotopic measurement ((235)U/(238)U) shows a natural origin rather than DU.
Asunto(s)
Cabello/efectos de la radiación , Monitoreo de Radiación/métodos , Torio/análisis , Oligoelementos/análisis , Uranio/análisis , Peninsula Balcánica , China , Difusión , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Geografía , Humanos , Concentración de Iones de Hidrógeno , Industrias , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Metales Pesados/análisis , Exposición Profesional , Oxidación-Reducción , Contaminantes Radiactivos del Suelo/análisis , Solventes/química , Ácidos Sulfúricos/química , Agua/análisisRESUMEN
The naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) distributed in products, by-products and waste produced from Thai mineral industries were investigated. Samples were analysed for radioactivity concentrations of two principal NORM isotopes: (226)Ra and (228)Ra. The enrichment of NORM was found to occur during the treatment process of some minerals. The highest activity of (226)Ra (7 × 10(7) Bq kg(-1)) was in the scale from tantalum processing. The radium concentration in the discarded by-product material from metal ore dressing was also enriched by 3-10 times. Phosphogypsum, a waste produced from the production of phosphate fertilisers, contained 700 times the level of (226)Ra concentration found in phosphate ore. Hence, these residues were also sources of exposure to workers and the public, which needed to be controlled.
Asunto(s)
Monitoreo de Radiación/métodos , Radioisótopos/análisis , Radio (Elemento)/análisis , Contaminantes Radiactivos del Suelo/análisis , Sulfato de Calcio/análisis , Calibración , Fertilizantes , Geografía , Humanos , Residuos Industriales , Industrias , Metales/análisis , Minerales/análisis , Fosfatos , Fósforo/análisis , Contaminantes Radiactivos/análisis , Residuos Radiactivos/análisis , Tantalio/análisis , TailandiaRESUMEN
This study aims to introduce thoron ((220)Rn), a naturally occurring isotope, as a new groundwater tracer for detecting groundwater seepage into Bangkok canals. Previous studies by the group using radioactive radon ((222)Rn) and conductivity as groundwater tracers suggested that there is shallow groundwater seeping into the man-made canals ('klongs') around Bangkok. Furthermore, the groundwater was shown to be an important pathway of nutrient contamination to the surface waters. Thoron is a member of the natural (232)Th decay chain, has exactly the same chemical properties as radon, but has a much shorter half-life (56 s) than radon (3.84 d). By using its advantage of rapid decay, if one detects thoron in the environment, there must be a source nearby. Thus, thoron is potentially an excellent prospecting tool. In the case of measurements in natural waters, sources of thoron should indicate the point of groundwater discharges more precisely than radon. During the surveys in the canals of Bangkok, thoron was successfully measured and its distribution was more variable than that of radon, suggesting that seepage into the canals is not uniform.