A review of measurements of radionuclides in members of the public in the UK

Abstract

This paper summarises a comprehensive review of radio-analytical data from autopsy, whole or partial body monitoring and the assay of teeth, foetuses and urine for non-occupationally exposed members of the public in the UK between 1957 and 2003. Most attention has been given to measurements of artificial radionuclides formed in the nuclear fuel cycle, uranium and thorium. The review concentrates on measurements on people in the UK who live or have lived in the vicinity of nuclear power sites. When UK data are unavailable, or for the purposes of comparison, information has been included from studies in other countries. Highlights of key findings of the document are listed: The concentrations of strontium-90 in bone and teeth have reflected changes in the amounts present in the environment due to fallout from nuclear testing. There are higher concentration levels of 239+240Pu in samples from West Cumbria compared with the rest of the UK. However, the levels are so low that any increase in risk of induced skeletal tumours (including leukaemia) would be very small compared with those arising from the intake of natural radionuclides. As expected there have been only a few published autopsy studies. Both tissue sample mass and radionuclide concentrations were low, leading to relatively large measurement uncertainties. Whole body measurements of 137Cs in residents in Berkshire and Oxfordshire clearly show the effect of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons and of the Chernobyl accident. A survey of whole body 137Cs and 134Cs content following the Chernobyl accident showed that residents of Central Scotland, North-West England and North Wales had twice the radiocaesium content of residents in the rest of England and Wales. Measurements of 131I in the thyroid have been reported following the accidents at Windscale and Chernobyl for most regions of the UK. Few excretion studies have been reported although this does not diminish their importance. One study on the urinary excretion rate of 90Sr in adults and children living in the Dounreay area suggested that the results did not support this radionuclide as being the cause of increased childhood leukaemia. Similar conclusions were drawn from another study involving the assay of 239Pu. It is suggested that a national database of measurements made on members of the public should be initiated. The database would provide a means for identifying future trends.

Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Low-Levels of Radioactivity: a Retrospective Study of 239Pu and 90Sr from Nuclear Bomb Tests on the Swiss Population

“…Dates must be understood as the birth year of the children. For the United-Kingdom, the data represent activities found in premolar roots of milk teeth from children aged 10 (Hodgson et al, 2004). In this respect, and because the roots of teeth have a bone-like structure (Gulson and Gillings, 1997), these data correspond better to the activities that can be found in trabecular bones, rather than in the enamel of milk teeth.…”

“…In Switzerland, a monitoring program of 90 Sr in milk teeth was initiated by the Federal Office of Public Health in the late fifties and is still ongoing (Froidevaux et al, 2006b). Figure 1 displays the features of the 90 Sr content of milk teeth monitored in Switzerland (1951-2002, (Froidevaux et al, 2006b), Denmark (1953-1963, (Aarkrog, 1971, United-Kingdom (1960-1971, (Hodgson et al, 2004), Germany and Northern Ukraine (1982( -1986( , (Schmitz et al, 2004) and shows the maximum value determined in Norway (1965) and Finland (1963) and, between 1976and 1979, in French Polynesia (Badie et al, 1987. Dates must be understood as the birth year of the children.…”

“…In this respect, the main challenge of national authorities is to survey diet and, possibly, the population body burden. While radioactivity surveys of food and the environment are a dedicated task of every laboratory dealing with environmental radioactivity surveys (Froidevaux et al, 2006a), the determination of very low-levels of radioactivity in the body is another challenge; whole body counting may provide data on 137 Cs (or other γ-emitters) contamination (Hodgson et al, 2004), but previous studies show that 90 Sr and plutonium could be the most radiotoxic isotopes that should be searched for (Atkinson et al, 2004). Over the last ten years, mass-spectrometry has been applied as an alternative detection method for measuring actinides, especially plutonium.…”

“…Conversely, there exists no other possibility of bone sampling except for collection at autopsy. Unfortunately, due to legal difficulties in obtaining samples for analysis, there are only limited data available worldwide, mostly concerning 90 Sr (Hodgson et al, 2004). The USTUR (United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries) is a source of very valuable information for human tissue studies, including bones, biokinetics, bioeffects and the dosimetry of uranium and transuranium in human.…”

Radioactive isotope analyses of skeletal materials in forensic science: a review of uses and potential uses

“…All of these mixing and 97 transfer processes occur very rapidly in comparison to the 98 average lifetime of a 14 C atom (8,300 years approx.) and so 99 all living organisms are labelled to a first approximation with 100 the same 14 C-specific activity (becquerel per kilogram).…”