Natural ionizing radiation exposure of the Spanish population

García-Talavera, M.; Matarranz, José Luis Martín; Martínez, M.; Salas, R.; Ramos, L.

doi:10.1093/rpd/ncm213

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Bladder and kidneys receive a radiation dose when radioactive isotopes are excreted into urine [ 18 ]. Studies conducted in Spain [ 19 , 20 ] and those undertaken in other countries [ 21 ] coincide in concluding that there is a wide variability of content in natural radionuclides depending upon the nature of the terrain and the geographic location, something that might in turn have a bearing on the spatial patterns of this disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kidney cancer mortality in Spain: geographic patterns and possible hypotheses

et al. 2008

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BackgroundSince the second half of the 1990s, kidney cancer mortality has tended to stabilize and decline in many European countries, due to the decrease in the prevalence of smokers. Nevertheless, incidence of kidney cancer is rising across the sexes in some of these countries, a trend which may possibly reflect the fact that improvements in diagnostic techniques are being outweighed by the increased prevalence of some of this tumor's risk factors. This study sought to: examine the geographic pattern of kidney cancer mortality in Spain; suggest possible hypotheses that would help explain these patterns; and enhance existing knowledge about the large proportion of kidney tumors whose cause remains unknown.MethodsSmoothed municipal relative risks (RRs) for kidney cancer mortality were calculated in men and women, using the conditional autoregressive model proposed by Besag, York and Molliè. Maps were plotted depicting smoothed relative risk estimates, and the distribution of the posterior probability of RR>1 by sex.ResultsMunicipal maps displayed a marked geographic pattern, with excess mortality in both sexes, mainly in towns along the Bay of Biscay, including areas of Asturias, the Basque Country and, to a lesser extent, Cantabria. Among women, the geographic pattern was strikingly singular, not in evidence for any other tumors, and marked by excess risk in towns situated in the Salamanca area and Extremaduran Autonomous Region. This difference would lead one to postulate the existence of different exposures of environmental origin in the various regions.ConclusionThe reasons for this pattern of distribution are not clear, and it would thus be of interest if the effect of industrial emissions on this disease could be studied. The excess mortality observed among women in towns situated in areas with a high degree of natural radiation could reflect the influence of exposures which derive from the geologic composition of the terrain and then become manifest through the agency of drinking water.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kidney cancer mortality in Spain: geographic patterns and possible hypotheses

et al. 2008

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“…That said, the weak but positive relationship between predicted gamma flux and indoor radon concentrations found in this study is in keeping with previous findings (Jackson, 1992; Szegvary et al, 2007a; Szegvary et al, 2007b). This is also conceptually sensible as 238 U is an important geologic driver of both radon and gamma flux (Garcia-Talvera et al, 2007; Peterson et al, 2007; Sakoda et al, 2011; Wilford 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The use of gamma-survey measurements to better understand radon potential in urban areas

Berens

Diem

Stauber

et al. 2017

Science of The Total Environment

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Accounting for as much as 14% of all lung cancers worldwide, cumulative radon progeny exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer among never-smokers both internationally and in the United States. To understand the risk of radon progeny exposure, studies have mapped radon potential using aircraft-based measurements of gamma emissions. However, these efforts are hampered in urban areas where the built environment obstructs aerial data collection. To address part of this limitation, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using in situ gamma readings (taken with a scintillation probe attached to a ratemeter) to assess radon potential in an urban environment: DeKalb County, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, Georgia, USA. After taking gamma measurements at 402 survey sites, empirical Bayesian kriging was used to create a continuous surface of predicted gamma readings for the county. We paired these predicted gamma readings with indoor radon concentration data from 1351 residential locations. Statistical tests showed the interpolated gamma values were significantly but weakly positively related with indoor radon concentrations, though this relationship is decreasingly informative at finer geographic scales. Geology, gamma readings, and indoor radon were interrelated, with granitic gneiss generally having the highest gamma readings and highest radon concentrations and ultramafic rock having the lowest of each. Our findings indicate the highest geogenic radon potential may exists in the relatively undeveloped southeastern part of the county. It is possible that in situ gamma, in concert with other variables, could offer an alternative to aerial radioactivity measurements when determining radon potential, though future work will be needed to address this project's limitations.

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“…According to the estimated natural radiation exposure dose of the Spanish population, the annual dose was reported to be about 1.6 mSv. 37 Compared to the patient’s occupation period of about 20 years, the net occupational radiation exposure excluding natural exposure is about two times higher than that of the general population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also showed that the international flight attendant was annually exposed to 2.99–4.17 mSv of cosmic radiation, which was twice that of the general population exposure. 37 However, many flight attendants in Korea do not undergo health checkups as nighttime and radiation workers, because nighttime work in the enforcement regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act is defined only by the chronological period without considering the trans-meridian air travel. Moreover, the cabin crews are not yet classified as radiation workers and are not strictly managed through health checkups for radiation exposure in the enforcement decree of the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment nor in the Aviation Act.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of risks for breast cancer in a flight attendant exposed to night shift work and cosmic ionizing radiation: a case report

Park

Seo

et al. 2022

Ann Occup Environ Med

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Background Some epidemiological studies have estimated exposure among flight attendants with and without breast cancer. However, it is difficult to find a quantitative evaluation of occupational exposure factors related to cancer development individually in the case of breast cancer in flight attendants. That is, most, if not all, epidemiological studies of breast cancer in flight attendants with quantitative exposure estimates have estimated exposure in the absence of individual flight history data. Case presentation A 41-year-old woman visited the hospital due to a left breast mass after a regular check-up. Breast cancer was suspected on ultrasonography. Following core biopsy, she underwent various imaging modalities. She was diagnosed invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (estrogen receptor positive in 90%, progesterone receptor positive in 3%, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2/neu equivocal) with histologic grade 3 and nuclear grade 3 in the left breast. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered to reduce the tumor size before surgery. However, due to serious chemotherapy side effects, the patient opted for alternative and integrative therapies. She joined the airline in January, 1996. Out of all flights, international flights and night flights accounted for 94.9% and 26.2, respectively. Night flights were conducted at least four times per month. Moreover, based on the virtual computer program CARI-6M, the estimated dose of cosmic radiation exposure was 78.81 mSv. There were no other personal triggers or family history of breast cancer. Conclusions This case report shows that the potentially causal relationship between occupational harmful factors and the incidence of breast cancer may become more pronounced when night shift workers who work continuously are exposed to cosmic ionizing radiation. Therefore, close attention and efforts are needed to adjust night shift work schedules and regulate cosmic ionizing radiation exposure.

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Natural ionizing radiation exposure of the Spanish population

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Kidney cancer mortality in Spain: geographic patterns and possible hypotheses

Kidney cancer mortality in Spain: geographic patterns and possible hypotheses

The use of gamma-survey measurements to better understand radon potential in urban areas

Assessment of risks for breast cancer in a flight attendant exposed to night shift work and cosmic ionizing radiation: a case report

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