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The research itself reflects the condition of immunological reactivity at lens patology of people taken part in the liquidation of the effects of Chernobol nuclear power station.

Risks of somatic diseases among personnel of Uranium Processing Enterprise in Kazakhstan The prevalence and relative risks of somatic pathology were studied in 912 workers of uranium processing plant. Excessive rough and standardized relative risks for arterial hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were obtained. The intensive development of the global economy does not allow for the foreseeable future to eliminate the use of atomic energy. The Republic of Kazakhstan takes one of the leading places in the world on reserves of uranium ore. In 2009, Kazakhstan moved into first place for the extraction of uranium in the world — the extraction of natural uranium was 13 500 tons [1]. Due to productive expansion, a large number of "professionals" and population are involved into impact area of radiation factor; therefore, the assessment of ionization radiation (IR) impact in low doses (LD) on the health of the nuclear fuel complex personnel becomes more acute [2]. Medical and biological effects of chronic exposure to low doses (LD) to the present time are not fully clear, although it is known that the extrapolation of data obtained for high doses of ionization radiation (IR) for the LD is not justified [3, 4]. At this stage, all effects of LD are considered as stochastic, realizing in the form of cancer or genetic disorders. However, as data of the literature give evidence, this is not all manifestations of the low level radiation exposure. These also include the effects of early aging, various metabolic disorders, respiratory diseases - plutonium pneumofibrosis, bronchitis, etc. [5, 6]. According to a number of authors, IR in LD can contribute to a number of somatic diseases. In this case the radiation factor may not play a decisive role, and act as an agent, potentiating impact of traditional risk factors for major somatic diseases [2, 7]. Existing in the available literature data on the prevalence of chronic noninfectious diseases among workers of the nuclear industry are small, fragmented and, in some cases, contradictory [2, 3, 8].

Individuals chronically exposed to low-level ionising radiation (IR) run the risk of harmful and long-term adverse health effects, including gene mutations and cancer development. The search for reliable biomarkers of IR exposure in human population is still of great interest, as they may have a great implementation potential for the surveillance of occupationally exposed individuals. In this context, and considering previous literature, this study aimed to identify mutations in the human interferon alpha-2b (hIFNα-2b) as a potential biomarker of occupational chronic low-dose IR exposure linking low-IR exposure to the effects on haematopoiesis and reduced immunity. The analysis was performed in the genomic DNA of 51 uranium miners and 38 controls from Kazakhstan, and in 21 medical radiology workers and 21 controls from Italy. hIFNα-2b gene mutations were analysed with the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Sanger sequencing. However, none of the investigated workers had the hIFNα-2b mutation. This finding highlights the need for further research to identify biomarkers for early detection of health effects associated with chronic low-dose IR exposure., Kronična izloženost niskim razinama ionizirajućega zračenja povezana je s rizikom od dugoročnih štetnih posljedica za zdravlje, što obuhvaća i mutacije gena te nastanak raka. U tijeku je potraga za pouzdanim biopokazateljima izloženosti ionizirajućem zračenju u ljudi, budući da njihova primjena može značajno unaprijediti praćenje profesionalno izloženih osoba. U tom smislu, a s obzirom na ranija saznanja, cilj je ovoga istraživanja bio utvrditi mutacije gena za proizvodnju humanoga interferona alfa-2b (hIFNα-2b gena) kao mogućega biopokazatelja profesionalne kronične izloženosti niskim dozama ionizirajućega zračenja, koje je usto povezano s djelovanjem na hematopoezu i pad imuniteta. Analiziran je genomski DNA 51 rudara u rudnicima uranija te 38 kontrolnih ispitanika iz Kazahstana, odnosno genomski DNA 21 zdravstvenoga radnika na radiologiji i 21 kontrolnoga ispitanika iz Italije. Mutacije hIFNα-2b gena utvrđivane su metodom lančane reakcije polimerazom u stvarnom vremenu (engl. real-time PCR) odnosno sekvenciranjem prema Sangeru, ali se pokazalo da niti jedan radnik nije imao niti jednu od deset traženih mutacija toga gena. Stoga ne preostaje drugo nego i dalje tražiti pouzdane biopokazatelje za rano otkrivanje štetnih zdravstvenih učinaka povezanih s kroničnom izloženosti niskim dozama ionizirajućega zračenja.