Deposition of radon progeny on skin surfaces and resulting radiation doses in radon therapy

Abstract

In the Gastein valley, Austria, radon-rich thermal water and air have been used for decades for the treatment of various diseases. To explore the exposure pathway of radon progeny adsorbed to the skin, progeny activities on the skin of patients exposed to thermal water (in a bathtub) and hot vapour (in a vapour chamber) were measured by alpha spectrometry. Average total alpha activities on the patients' skin varied from 1.2 to 4.1 Bq/cm(2) in the bathtub, and from 1.1 to 2.6 Bq/cm(2) in the vapour bath. Water pH-value and ion concentration did affect radon progeny adsorption on the skin, whereas skin greasiness and blood circulation did not. Measurements of the penetration of deposited radon progeny into the skin revealed a roughly exponential activity distribution in the upper layers of the skin. Based on the radon progeny surface activity concentrations and their depth distributions, equivalent doses to different layers of the skin, in particular to the Langerhans cells located in the epidermis, ranged from 0.12 mSv in the thermal bath to 0.33 mSv in the vapour bath, exceeding equivalent doses to the inner organs (kidneys) by inhaled radon and progeny by about a factor 3, except for the lung, which receives the highest doses via inhalation. These results suggest that radon progeny attachment on skin surfaces may play a major role in the dosimetry for both thermal water and hot vapour treatment schemes.

Assessment of Effective Dose from Radioactive Isotopes Contained in Mineral Waters Received by Patients During Hydrotherapy Treatments

“…This is particularly true about the most commonly used radon inhalations. In the case of thermal inhalations, the dose for the lungs can reach over 5 mSv during 14 days of treatment [6]. In light of modern radiobiological knowledge, it is difficult to assume that such small doses that we determined could cause noticeable clinical effects.…”

“…There are few estimations of the effective dose received by patients during balneological treatments as a result of ionizing radiation and its impact on the body, and mainly cover radiation caused by radon 222 Rn [3][4][5][6] or drinking mineral water [5,[7][8][9][10][11].…”

Effective Doses of Ionizing Radiation during Therapeutic Peat Mud Treatment from a Deposit in the Knyszyn Forest (Northeastern Poland)

“…There are few publications describing the effective doses received by patients during balneological procedures as a result of the action of ionizing radiation and its effect on the body. They mainly describe the dosages and effects caused by the radon 222 Rn [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] or drinking mineral waters [ 26 , 28 ]. In the health resort of Heviz (Hungary), patients received a dose of 81 μSv with 222 Rn and its derivatives during a two-week treatment with baths and inhalations [ 26 ].…”

“…As stated above, the calculated doses a person received during peat mud treatment from the Podsokoldy deposits, which were 0.078 μSv and 0.153 μSv in a series of baths and through skin application, respectively, were about four orders of magnitude less than that given by Tempera (from 0.12 mSv to 0.80 mSv) [ 27 ] and about three orders from calculations made by Somlai (81 μSv) [ 26 ]. Even assuming the radiation hormesis hypothesis to be true, it is unlikely that such small doses would be able to trigger a hypothetical hormesis mechanism.…”

Fukushima Daiichi and Icarus: The Human Factor in a Meltdown (Sv= 1J/kg.w)

“…Doses ranged from 0.12 mSv in the thermal bath to 0.33 mSv in the vapour bath, exceeding equivalent doses to the inner organs (kidneys) by inhaled radon and progeny by about a factor 3, except for the lung, which receives the highest doses via inhalation (22).…”