1. Interaction of alpha particles at the cellular level--implications for the radiation weighting factor
- Author
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Werner Hofmann, Pascal Pihet, I. Aubineau-Laniece, H Fakir, Division of Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg, and Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN)
- Subjects
Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced ,Radon Daughters ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,radiation exposure ,dose calculation ,cancer risk ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,0302 clinical medicine ,Models ,Risk Factors ,computer program ,Neoplasms ,Relative biological effectiveness ,Radioactive ,cellular distribution ,target cell ,Physics ,Air Pollutants ,Radiation ,dosimetry ,linear energy transfer ,Radiological and Ultrasound Technology ,Bronchial Neoplasms ,article ,radiation carcinogenesis ,radon ,cell line ,General Medicine ,Alpha Particles ,Charged particle ,relative biologic effectiveness ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,radiation dose distribution ,radiation dose ,Monte Carlo Method ,malignant transformation ,in vitro study ,Linear energy transfer ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Radon ,Bronchi ,Models, Biological ,03 medical and health sciences ,Dosimetry ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Radiometry ,mouse ,nonhuman ,business.industry ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,bronchus ,Alpha particle ,Biological ,respiratory tract diseases ,lung cancer ,Radiation-Induced ,chemistry ,Air Pollutants, Radioactive ,Biophysics ,alpha radiation ,epithelium cell ,Nuclear medicine ,business - Abstract
Since low dose effects of alpha particles are produced by cellular hits in a relatively small fraction of exposed cells, the present study focuses on alpha particle interactions in bronchial epithelial cells following exposure to inhaled radon progeny. A computer code was developed for the calculation of microdosimetric spectra, dose and hit probabilities for alpha particles emitted from uniform and non-uniform source distributions in cylindrical and Y-shaped bronchial airway geometries. Activity accumulations at the dividing spur of bronchial airway bifurcations produce hot spots of cellular hits, indicating that a small fraction of cells located at such sites may receive substantially higher doses. While presently available data on in vitro transformation frequencies suggest that the relative biological effectiveness for alpha particles ranges from about 3 to 10, the effect of inhomogeneous activity distributions of radon progeny may slightly increase the radiation weighting factor relative to a uniform distribution. Thus a radiation weighting factor of about 10 may be more realistic than the current value of 20, at least for lung cancer risk following inhalation of short-lived radon progeny. © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved.
- Published
- 2004
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