Radiobiology, Dosimetry and Radiation Protection

1 MKOLOMA S.S

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Radiobiology
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y Radiobiology (or radiation biology) is the

interdisciplinary field of science that studies the biological effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation of the whole electromagnetic spectrum, including gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, microwaves, radio wave, low-frequency radiation (such as used in alternate electric transmission, ultrasound thermal radiation (heat), and related modalities y It is a subset of biophysics
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Cell biology
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y Formerly known as cytology, from the Greek word

kytos, "container y It is a scientific discipline that studies cells

      

their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level

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y Knowing the components of cells and how cells work is

fundamental to all biological sciences y Appreciating the similarities and differences between cell types is particularly important to the fields of cell and molecular biology as well as cancer research and developmental biology y These fundamental similarities and differences provide a unifying theme, allowing the principles learned from one cell type to be generalized to other cell types y Therefore, research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, and developmental biology
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Molecular biology
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y Is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular

basis of biological activity y This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry y Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding and the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between the different types of DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated
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Mechanism of damage by radiation at cellular level

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y Injury to living tissue results from the transfer of

energy to atoms and molecules in the cellular structure y Ionizing radiation causes atoms and molecules to become ionized or excited y These excitations and ionizations can:
Produce free radicals. Break chemical

bonds. Produce new chemical bonds and cross-linkage between macromolecules. Damage molecules that regulate vital cell processes (DNA, RNA, proteins)

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y The cell can repair certain levels of cell damage y At low doses, such as that received every day from

background radiation, cellular damage is rapidly repaired y At higher levels, cell death results y At extremely high doses, cells cannot be replaced quickly enough, and tissues fail to function

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y In general, the radiation sensitivity of a tissue is:

 

proportional to the rate of proliferation of its cells inversely proportional to the degree of cell differentiation

y For example, the following tissues and organs are listed

from most radiosensitive to least radiosensitive: Most Sensitive:

    

Blood-forming organs Reproductive organs Skin Bone and teeth Muscle

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y Least sensitive:  Nervous system y This also means that, a developing embryo is most

sensitive to radiation during the early stages of differentiation y And an embryo/fetus is more sensitive to radiation exposure in the first trimester than in later trimesters

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NATURE OF RADIATION DAMAGE AND RBE

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y Radiation effects can be categorized by when they

appear


Prompt effects: effects, including radiation sickness and radiation burns, seen immediately after large doses of radiation delivered over short periods of time. Delayed effects: effects such as cataract formation and cancer induction that may appear months or years after a radiation exposure

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PROMPT EFFECTS
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y High doses delivered to the whole body of healthy adults

within short periods of time can produce effects such as;  blood component changes  Fatigue  Diarrhea  nausea  Death y These effects will develop within hours, days or weeks, depending on the size of the dose y The larger the dose, the sooner a given effect will occur
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Partial Body Exposure

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y These acute effects apply only when the whole body

is relatively uniformly irradiated y The effects can be significantly different when only portions of the body or an individual organ system are irradiated, such as might occur during the use of radiation for medical treatment y For example, a dose of 500 rem delivered uniformly to the whole body may cause death while a dose of 500 rem delivered to the skin will only cause hair loss and skin reddening
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DELAYED EFFECTS
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y Cataracts  Cataracts are induced when a dose exceeding approximately 200-300 rem is delivered to the lens of the eye  Radiation-induced cataracts may take many months to years to appear y Cancer  Studies of people exposed to high doses of radiation have shown that there is a risk of cancer induction associated with high doses  The specific types of cancers associated with radiation exposure include leukemia, multiple myeloma, breast cancer, lung cancer, and skin cancer
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y Radiation-induced cancers may take 10 - 15 years or more to y y

y y y

appear There may be a risk of cancer at low doses as well It has been difficult to estimate cancer induction risks, because most of the radiation exposures that humans receive are very close to background levels At low dose levels of millirems to tens of rems, the risk of radiation-induced cancers is so low If the risk exists, it is not readily distinguishable from normal levels of cancer occurrence Leukemia or solid tumors induced by radiation are indistinguishable from those that result from other causes
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y The average lifetime risk of death from cancer

following an acute dose equivalent to all body organs of 0.1 Sv (10 rem) is estimated to be 0.8% y This increase in lifetime risk is about 4% of the current baseline risk of death due to cancer y The current baseline risk of cancer induction in the United States is approximately 25% y Another way of stating this risk:


A dose of 10 mrem creates a risk of death from cancer of approximately 1 in 1,000,000

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GENETIC EFFECTS
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y There is no direct evidence of radiation-induced

genetic effects in humans, even at high doses y Various analyses indicate that the rate of genetic disorders produced in humans is expected to be extremely low, on the order of a few disorders per million live born per rem of parental exposure

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PARENTAL RADIATION EXPOSURE

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y Rapidly proliferating and differentiating tissues are

most sensitive to radiation damage y Consequently, radiation exposure can produce developmental problems, particularly in the developing brain, when an embryo/fetus is exposed prenatally y The developmental conditions most commonly associated with prenatal radiation exposure include low birth weight, microcephaly, mental retardation, and other neurological problems
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y These effects are related to the developmental stage

at which the exposure occurs y The threshold dose for developmental effects is approximately 10 rems y The evidence that the developing embryo/fetus is more sensitive to radiation-induced cancer is inconclusive y But it is prudent to assume that there is some increased sensitivity

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THE RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL EFFCTIVENESS

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y RBE is a number that expresses the relative amount

of damage that a fixed amount of ionizing radiation of a given type can inflict on biological tissues y The higher that number, the more damaging is that type of radiation, for the same amount of absorbed energy y Different types of radiation have different effectiveness mainly because they transfer their energy to the tissue in different ways

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y Photons and beta particles have a low linear energy

transfer coefficient, meaning that they ionize atoms in the tissue that are spaced y In contrast, alpha particles and neutrons leave a denser trail of ionized atoms in their wake, minimum spaced y The relative biological effectiveness is the radiation weighting factor that enters in the conversion of units of absorbed energy such as rads and grays to units of biological equivalent dose for radiation exposure (such as rems and sieverts, respectively
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Stochastic effects
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y Are those that occur by chance and consist primarily

of cancer and genetic effects y Often show up years after exposure y As the dose to an individual increases, the probability that cancer or a genetic effect will occur also increases y However, at no time, even for high doses, is it certain that cancer or genetic damage will result

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y For stochastic effects, there is no threshold dose below

which it is relatively certain that an adverse effect cannot occur y In addition, because stochastic effects can occur in individuals that have not been exposed to radiation above background levels, it can never be determined for certain that an occurrence of cancer or genetic damage was due to a specific exposure y While it cannot be determined conclusively, it often possible to estimate the probability that radiation exposure will cause a stochastic effect
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y It is estimated that the probability of having a cancer

in the US rises from 20% for non radiation workers to 21% for persons who work regularly with radiation y The probability for genetic defects is even less likely to increase for workers exposed to radiation y Studies conducted on Japanese atomic bomb survivors who were exposed to large doses of radiation found no more genetic defects than what would normally occur

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y Radiation-induced hereditary effects have not been

observed in human populations, yet they have been demonstrated in animals y If the germ cells that are present in the ovaries and testes and are responsible for reproduction were modified by radiation, hereditary effects could occur in the progeny of the individual

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y Exposure of the embryo or fetus to ionizing radiation

could increase the risk of leukemia in infants y During certain periods in early pregnancy, may lead to mental retardation and congenital malformations if the amount of radiation is sufficiently high

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Nonstochastic effects
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y Are characterized by a threshold dose below which

they do not occur y In other words, nonstochastic effects have a clear relationship between the exposure and the effect y The magnitude of the effect is directly proportional to the size of the dose y Nonstochastic effects typically result when very large dosages of radiation are received in a short amount of time

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y These effects will often be evident within hours or

days y Examples of nonstochastic effects include erythema (skin reddening), skin and tissue burns, cataract formation, sterility, radiation sickness and death y Each of these effects differs from the others in that both its threshold dose and the time over which the dose was received cause the effect (acute & chronic exposure)

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y There are a number of cases of radiation burns

occurring to the hands or fingers y These cases occurred when a radiographer touched or came in close contact with a high intensity radiation emitter y Intensity on the surface of an 85 curie Ir-192 source capsule is approximately 1,768 R/s y Contact with the source for two seconds would expose the hand of an individual to 3,536 rems, and this does not consider any additional whole body dosage received when approaching the source
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Examples of Nonstochastic effects

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y Hemopoietic Syndrome  The hemopoietic syndrome encompasses the medical conditions that affect the blood  Hemopoietic syndrome conditions appear after a gamma dose of about 200 rads (2 Gy) y This disease is characterized by depression or

ablation of the bone marrow, and the physiological consequences of this damage y The onset of the disease is rather sudden, and is heralded by nausea and vomiting within several hours after the overexposure occurred
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y Malaise and fatigue are felt by the victim, but the

degree of malaise does not seem to be correlated with the size of the dose y Loss of hair (epilation), which is almost always seen, appears between the second and third week after the exposure y Death may occur within one to two months after exposure y An exposure of about 700 rads (7 Gy) or greater leads to irreversible ablation of the bone marrow
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y Gastrointestinal Syndrome

The gastrointestinal syndrome encompasses the medical conditions that affect the stomach and the intestines y This medical condition follows a total body gamma dose of about 1000 rads (10 Gy) or greater, and is a consequence of the desquamation of the intestinal epithelium y All the signs and symptoms of hemopoietic syndrome are seen, with the addition of severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea which begin very soon after exposure y Death within one to two weeks after exposure is the most likely outcome

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y Central Nervous System

A total body gamma dose in excess of about 2000 rads (20 Gy) damages the central nervous system, as well as all the other organ systems in the body y Unconsciousness follows within minutes after exposure and death can result in a matter of hours to several days y The rapidity of the onset of unconsciousness is directly related to the dose received y In one instance in which a 200 msec burst of mixed neutrons and gamma rays delivered a mean total body dose of about 4400 rads (44 Gy), the victim was ataxic and disoriented within 30 seconds

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y Other Acute Effects  The skin is subject to more radiation exposure, especially in the case of low energy x-rays and beta rays, than most other tissues  An exposure of about 300 R (77 mC/kg) of low energy (in the diagnostic range) x-rays results in erythema  Higher doses may cause changes in pigmentation, loss of hair, blistering, cell death, and ulceration  Radiation dermatitis of the hands and face was a relatively common occupational disease among radiologists who practiced during the early years of the twentieth century.

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The reproductive organs are particularly radiosensitive A single dose of only 30 rads (300 mGy) to the testes results in temporary sterility among men For women, a 300 rad (3 Gy) dose to the ovaries produces temporary sterility Higher doses increase the period of temporary sterility In women, temporary sterility is evidenced by a cessation of menstruation for a period of one month or more, depending on the dose Irregularities in the menstrual cycle, which suggest functional changes in the reproductive organs, may result from local irradiation of the ovaries with doses smaller than that required for temporary sterilization.
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The eyes too, are relatively radiosensitive A local dose of several hundred rads can result in acute conjunctivitis.

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Carcinogenesis on human beings

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y A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or

radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer y This may be due to the ability to damage or cause disruption of cellular metabolic processes y Several radioactive substances are considered carcinogens, but their carcinogenic activity is attributed to the radiation, for example gamma rays and alpha particles, which they emit

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y Common examples of carcinogens are inhaled

asbestos, certain dioxins, and tobacco smoke y Cancer is a disease in which damaged cells do not undergo programmed cell death y Carcinogens may increase the risk of cancer by altering cellular metabolism or damaging DNA directly in cells, which interferes with biological processes y It induces the uncontrolled, malignant division, leading to the formation of tumors
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y Usually DNA damage, if too severe to repair, leads to

programmed cell death y If the programmed cell death pathway is damaged, then the cell cannot prevent itself from becoming a cancer cell y DNA is nucleophilic, therefore soluble carbon electrophiles are carcinogenic, because DNA attacks them

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