ABSTRACT
Only multiple X ray diagnostics could be identified as a common risk factor in a leukaemia cluster that appeared between 1985-1989 in the municipality of Sittensen in northern Germany. In order to judge if the effect could be explained by irradiation dose, estimates were done in two of the leukaemia cases and seven former patients of a practice where some of the leukaemia cases had been treated for orthopaedic reasons. The methods used for the reconstruction of doses were physical simulation and biological dosimetry by dicentric chromosomes in peripheral lymphocytes. Compared to the Bremen laboratory control the mean frequency of dicentric chromosomes in the lymphocytes of the seven volunteers was significantly elevated. An overexposure of about 12-fold could be derived compared to state of the art X raying. At least two cases of the leukaemia cluster in Sittensen can therefore be correlated to an overexposure by diagnostic X rays.
Subject(s)
Chromosome Aberrations , Leukemia, Radiation-Induced/genetics , Lymphocytes/radiation effects , Radiotherapy/adverse effects , X-Rays/adverse effects , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Radiotherapy Dosage , Retrospective Studies , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Exceptional elevation of children's leukemia appearing 5 years after the 1983 startup of the Krümmel nuclear power plant, accompanied by a significant increase of adult leukemia cases, led to investigations of radiation exposures of the population living near the plant. The rate of dicentric chromosomes in peripheral lymphocytes of seven parents of children with leukemia and in 14 other inhabitants near the plant was significantly elevated and indicated ongoing exposures over the years of its operation. These findings led to the hypothesis that chronic reactor leakages had occurred. This assumption is support by identification of artificial radioactivity in air, rainwater, soil and vegetation by the environmental monitoring program at the nuclear power plant. Calculations of the corresponding source terms show that emissions must have been well above authorized annual limits. Bone marrow doses supposedly result primarily through incorporation of bone-seeking beta- and alpha-emitters.
