ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the influence factors of chromosomal aberration levels in radiation workers in hospitals.Methods:Two hundred and fourteen age- and sex- matched hospital radiation workers were recruited by stratified random sampling method. According to the job title, the individuals were divided into four groups including diagnostic radiology group ( n=57), radiotherapy group ( n=49), nuclear medicine group ( n=52) and interventional radiology group ( n=56). Chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes from the subjects were measured using conventional cytogenetic analysis method, and the influence factors of chromosomal aberrations were analyzed. Results:There was significant difference in the frequencies of acentric fragment, translocation and total chromosome-type aberrations among the four groups ( χ2=9.906, 19.965, 32.824, P<0.05), and the rates of aberrations were significantly higher in the interventional radiology group and the nuclear medicine groups than those in the diagnostic radiology (interventional group: χ2=4.711, 10.798, 10.845, P<0.05; nuclear medicine group: χ2=3.853, 7.674, 7.708, P<0.05) and the radiotherapy groups (interventional group: χ2=9.209, 9.772, 21.330, P<0.05; nuclear medicine group: χ2=8.010, 6.969, 10.812, P<0.05). The rates of translocation and total aberrations ( χ2=7.706, 6.667, P<0.05) and the frequencies of acentric fragment, translocation and total aberrations ( χ2=12.263, 15.360, 21.478, P<0.01) were dependent on the length of service and the dose among different groups. The rates of translocation and total aberrations significantly increased along with exposure doses ( r=0.347, 0.263, P<0.01). Poisson regression analysis indicated that the job titles and annual effective dose partly affected the levels of chromosomal aberrations[ IRR=1.797 (nuclear medicine group), 2.136 (interventional group) and 1.422 (0.5-1 mSv group); P<0.05]. Conclusions:The frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in the radiation workers of interventional and nuclear medicine groups remain higher levels in hospital, thus it is necessary to strengthen the radiation protection on these radiation workers.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the influence of long-term low-dose ionizing radiation on 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG) level in the serum of radiation workers in hospitals.Methods 307 age-and sex-matched hospital radiation workers were recruited by stratified random sampling method.After deleting the subjects without dosage information,230 individuals were divided into four groups according to their job title [including diagnostic radiology (n =75),radiotherapy (n =60),nuclear medicine (n =41) and interventional radiology (n =54)].Serum 8-OHdG level was measured by ELISA assay.Results According to the statistical analysis,there was significant difference in the serum 8-OHdG level among four groups (F =9.071,P ＜ 0.05),and the content of serum 8-OHdG was significantly higher in the interventional radiology group than that in the groups of diagnostic radiology,radiotherapy and nuclear medicine (t =-4.473,-3.011,-2.189,P ＜ 0.05).There were significant differences in serum 8-OHdG level among different dose groups and working period groups(F =7.659,3.058,P ＜ 0.05).The serum 8-OHdG levels significantly increased along with exposure dose and working period (r =0.300,0.142,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Serum 8-OHdG may be a potential biomarker of oxidative DNA damage in radiation workers exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the public's perception and attitudes on the development of nuclear power, assess their knowledge about nuclear power and radiation, and to build a database on the public's perception for the purpose of providing better public health service, associate technical support and give suggestions for decision-makers.Methods In total of 1 440 local residents who live within 30 kilometers of a proposed nuclear power were chosen for in-person interviews.Questionnaires comprised of 49 questions designed to assess the public's knowledge of radiation and nuclear power, their attitudes to the development of nuclear power, their evaluation of local government and their informational environment.ANOVA was used to compare the influence of different factors on cognitive level.Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the main factors affecting the level of public awareness.Comparison among groups (respondents in this survey vs.other comparable surveys) was conducted using x2 test.Results Of the respondents, 29.7％ and 39.5％ of respondents knew about nuclear power and radiation, respectively, 24.2％ supported the construction of a nuclear power plant in their own area, which was lower than the average national support for construction of nuclear power plants (29.0％) (x2 =8.71 ,P ＜ 0.05).When queried about safety cncerns 36.8％ of respondents worried about the safety of nuclear power plant and 78.5％ of respondents were afraid of the damage to their health, while 34.1％ of respondents held the belief that the nuclear power plant could bring harmful effect even under normal operation.Regarding the informational environment, 90.0％ of the respondents could not or barely got access to knowledge on nuclear power plants, 71.1％ hoped to acquire the knowledge on nuclear power plants, 48.4％ hoped to acquire this knowledge by television programs, and 62.4％ mostly trusted information given by experts from universities or institutes.In comparison to other findings acquired in similar surveys on the Tianwan and Qinshan nuclear power plants before the Fukushima accident, the findings indicated that safety assessment of nuclear power plant were lower (x2 =20.49,56.96, P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The public's knowledge level on nuclear power and radiation directly influenced their attitude on nuclear power.The related agencies should strengthen publicity and education in order to increase the public's knowledge on nuclear power and radiation.The communication platform between the related agencies and the public should be established.Active and continued risk communication should be carried out to increase public acceptance of nuclear power.