Radium dial workers: back to the future

Martínez, Nicole; Jokisch, Derek W.; Dauer, Lawrence T.; Eckerman, K.F.; Goans, Ronald E.; Brockman, John; Tolmachev, Sergei Y.; Avtandilashvili, Maia; Mumma, Michael T.; Boice, John D.; Leggett, Richard W.

doi:10.1080/09553002.2021.1917785

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…sparsely ionising x-rays and gamma-rays, should be added workers who experienced notable excess rates of cancer as a result of large intakes of radioactive materials that had deposited within the body, including radionuclides emitting short-range, densely ionising alpha particles. Bone and head cancers were notably in excess among radium workers who had ingested high activities of radioisotopes of radium (Aub et al 1952, Fry 1998, Martinez et al 2022, and lung cancer rates were raised among underground hard-rock miners (e.g. uranium miners) who had inhaled high levels of the noble gas radon, principally the radioisotope 222 Rn, and its short-lived radioactive decay products (Wagoner et al 1964(Wagoner et al , 1965.…”

Section: Early Reports Of Excess Cases Of Cancer Following Exposure T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Routine radiological protection generally relates to low-level radiation exposure in the workplace or environment, but high doses may be received as a result of accidents (such as the Chornobyl reactor explosion (UNSCEAR 2011) and the insecure radiation source at Goiânia (IAEA 1988)), deliberate acts of malice (such as the Litvinenko poisoning in London (Harrison et al 2017)) and adventitious high exposures accompanying planned practices (such as the ingestion of substantial quantities of radium-based paint by dial luminisers (Martinez et al 2022)). However, most high doses are received in a medical context and, excluding accidents, intentionally through the use of radiation as a treatment for diseases, in particular, cancer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The risk of cancer following high, and very high, doses of ionising radiation

Wakeford

Hauptmann

2022

J. Radiol. Prot.

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It is established that moderate-to-high doses of ionising radiation increase the risk of subsequent cancer in the exposed individual, but the question arises as to the risk of cancer from higher doses, such as those delivered during radiotherapy, accidents, or deliberate acts of malice. In general, the cumulative dose received during a course of radiation treatment is sufficiently high that it would kill a person if delivered as a single dose to the whole body, but therapeutic doses are carefully fractionated and high/very high doses are generally limited to a small tissue volume under controlled conditions. The very high cumulative doses delivered as fractions during radiation treatment are designed to inactivate diseased cells, but inevitably some healthy cells will also receive high/very high doses. How the doses (ranging from <1 Gy to tens of Gy) received by healthy tissues during radiotherapy affect the risk of second primary cancer is an increasingly important issue to address as more cancer patients survive the disease. Studies show that, except for a turndown for thyroid cancer, a linear dose-response for second primary solid cancers seems to exist over a cumulative gamma radiation dose range of tens of gray, but with a gradient of excess relative risk (ERR) per Gy that varies with the type of second cancer, and which is notably shallower than that found in the Japanese atomic bomb survivors receiving a single moderate-to-high acute dose. The risk of second primary cancer consequent to high/very high doses of radiation is likely to be due to repopulation of heavily irradiated tissues by surviving stem cells, some of which will have been malignantly transformed by radiation exposure, although the exact mechanism is not known, and various models have been proposed. It is important to understand the mechanisms that lead to the raised risk of second primary cancers consequent to the receipt of high/very high doses, in particular so that the risks associated with novel radiation treatment regimens – for example, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) that deliver high doses to the target volume while exposing relatively large volumes of healthy tissue to low/moderate doses, and treatments using protons or heavy ions rather than photons – may be properly assessed.

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Section: Early Reports Of Excess Cases Of Cancer Following Exposure T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The risk of cancer following high, and very high, doses of ionising radiation

Wakeford

Hauptmann

2022

J. Radiol. Prot.

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“…By the time of his death, the deleterious effects of x rays had been well documented through case reports, the press, and scientific literature (Herzig 2001). Reporting on the dangers of ingesting radionuclides would follow from the investigations of Harrison S. Martland, the lead medical examiner in Essex County, New Jersey, for the women who had painted radium dials (Martland et al 1925; Martinez et al 2022). However, it would take another 40 y before Mackenzie reported on an observed positive association between the number of fluoroscopies received during the course of treatment for tuberculosis and breast cancer (Mackenzie 1965).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science-informed Policy Making for Protecting People and the Environment from Radiation

Borrego,

Nagata,

Boyd

et al. 2024

Health Physics

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The process to arrive at the radiation protection practices of today to protect workers, patients, and the public, including sensitive populations, has been a long and deliberative one. This paper presents an overview of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) responsibility in protecting human health and the environment from unnecessary exposure to radiation. The origins of this responsibility can be traced back to early efforts, a century ago, to protect workers from x rays and radium. The system of radiation protection we employ today is robust and informed by the latest scientific consensus. It has helped reduce or eliminate unnecessary exposures to workers, patients, and the public while enabling the safe and beneficial uses of radiation and radioactive material in diverse areas such as energy, medicine, research, and space exploration. Periodic reviews and analyses of research on health effects of radiation by scientific bodies such as the National Academy of Sciences, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and the International Commission on Radiological Protection continue to inform radiation protection practices while new scientific information is gathered. As a public health agency, US EPA is keenly interested in research findings that can better elucidate the effects of exposure to low doses and low dose rates of radiation as applicable to protection of diverse populations from various sources of exposure. Professional organizations such as the Health Physics Society can provide radiation protection practitioners with continuing education programs on the state of the science and describe the key underpinnings of the system of radiological protection. Such efforts will help equip and prepare radiation protection professionals to more effectively communicate radiation health information with their stakeholders.

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“…We evaluated two ICP-MS methods used to measure 226 Ra in brain tissue samples from a watch dial painter. Preliminary results examining the 226 Ra levels in brain measured by ICP-Q-MS were discussed by Martinez et al and Boice et al 46,47 The multi-element detection capabilities of ICP-MS enabled the potential for the simultaneous measurement of beryllium, strontium, and uranium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%