Comparisons of 239Pu inhalation doses calculated with ICRP 67 and proposed systemic models

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has issued an age-specific systemic biokinetic model for plutonium (Pu), which was later modified to give better agreement with measured urinary excretion data. Recently, the current ICRP systemic Pu model was improved by Leggett et al. based on recently developed data. Incorporation of 239Pu in the human body may result in significant internal radiation exposure. In the present work, the retentions in organs and tissues, the equivalent dose and effective dose from 239Pu for workers and members of the public were estimated and compared under the current ICRP and the proposed models. 239Pu contents in liver and in other soft tissue calculated with the proposed model are higher than predicted by the ICRP model, whereas bone content is lower than predicted by the ICRP model. Based on the proposed model, the inhalation equivalent dose coefficient in some organs, e.g. liver and kidneys, is increased, but there is no significant change in the effective inhalation dose coefficients of 239Pu for workers and members of the public.     

Reliability of the ICRP's dose coefficients for members of the public. 1. Sources of uncertainty in the biokinetic models

During the decade following the Chernobyl accident, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) developed dose coefficients (doses per unit intake) for ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides by members of the public. The level of uncertainty in those coefficients varies considerably from one radionuclide to another, due largely to differences in the level of understanding of the biological behaviour of different elements in the human body. This paper is the first in a series that examines the sources and extent of uncertainties in the ICRP's biokinetic and dosimetric models for members of the public and the dose coefficients derived from those models. The present paper describes the different types of information generally used to develop biokinetic models for radionuclides, the main sources of uncertainty associated with each type of information, and the approach used in subsequent papers in this series to quantify the uncertainties in biokinetic and dosimetric estimates.     

基于ICRP新肺模型的吸入核素内照射剂量计算

研究了吸入气溶胶在呼吸道内的沉积与廓清规律,评估吸入放射性物质在呼吸道内所致内照射剂量.采取ICRP第66号出版物提出的呼吸系统模型与相关参数,建立吸入放射性气溶胶在呼吸道内输运与剂量计算的数学模型,并用C++语言编程实现模型的计算.该模型可得到各种条件下吸入粒子在呼吸道内的沉积分布与廓清规律,以及吸人放射性物质在呼吸道各靶区内任意待积时间内造成的当量剂量.仿真结果表明:建立的数学模型与计算程序可用于意外吸人情况下的内照射剂量估算或职业人员常规个人内照射剂量估算.     

The computation of ICRP dose coefficients for intakes of radionuclides with PLEIADES: biokinetic aspects

The ICRP has published dose coefficients for the ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides in a series of reports covering intakes by workers and members of the public including children and pregnant or lactating women. The calculation of these coefficients conveniently divides into two distinct parts--the biokinetic and dosimetric. This paper gives a brief summary of the methods used to solve the biokinetic problem in the generation of dose coefficients on behalf of the ICRP, as implemented in the Health Protection Agency's internal dosimetry code PLEIADES.     

Dosimetric assessment from 212Pb inhalation at a thorium purification plant

At the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, Brazil, there is a facility (thorium purification plant) where materials with high thorium concentrations are manipulated. In order to estimate afterwards the lung cancer risk for the workers, the thoron daughter (212Pb) levels were assessed and the committed effective and lung committed equivalent doses for workers in place. A total of 28 air filter samples were measured by total alpha counting through the modified Kusnetz method, to determine the 212Pb concentraion. The committed effective dose and lung committed equivalent dose due to 212Pb inhalation were derived from compartmental analysis following the ICRP 66 lung compartmental model, and ICRP 67 lead metabolic model.     

The ICRP protection quantities, equivalent and effective dose: their basis and application

Equivalent and effective dose are protection quantities defined by the The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). They are frequently referred to simply as dose and may be misused. They provide a method for the summation of doses received from external sources and from intakes of radionuclides for comparison with dose limits and constraints, set to limit the risk of cancer and hereditary effects. For the assessment of internal doses, ICRP provides dose coefficients (Sv Bq(-1)) for the ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides by workers and members of the public, including children. Dose coefficients have also been calculated for in utero exposures following maternal intakes and for the transfer of radionuclides in breast milk. In each case, values are given of committed equivalent doses to organs and tissues and committed effective dose. Their calculation involves the use of defined biokinetic and dosimetric models, including the use of reference phantoms representing the human body. Radiation weighting factors are used as a simple representation of the different effectiveness of different radiations in causing stochastic effects at low doses. A single set of tissue weighting factors is used to take account of the contribution of individual organs and tissues to overall detriment from cancer and hereditary effects, despite age- and gender-related differences in estimates of risk and contributions to risk. The results are quantities that are not individual specific but are reference values for protection purposes, relating to doses to phantoms. The ICRP protection quantities are not intended for detailed assessments of dose and risk to individuals. They should not be used in epidemiological analyses or the assessment of the possibility of occurrence and severity of tissue reactions (deterministic effects) at higher doses. Dose coefficients are published as reference values and as such have no associated uncertainty. Assessments of uncertainties may be appropriate in specific analyses of doses and risks and in epidemiological studies.     

The internal dosimetry code PLEIADES

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published dose coefficients for the ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides in a series of reports covering intakes by workers and members of the public, including children and pregnant or lactating women. The calculation of these coefficients divides naturally into two distinct parts-the biokinetic and dosimetric. This paper describes in detail the methods used to solve the biokinetic problem in the generation of dose coefficients on behalf of the ICRP, as implemented in the Health Protection Agency's internal dosimetry code PLEIADES. A summary of the dosimetric treatment is included.     

Uncertainty of the thyroid dose conversion factor for inhalation intakes of 131I and its parametric uncertainty

Inhalation exposures of 131I may occur in the physical form of a gas as well as a particulate. The physical characteristics pertaining to these different types of releases influence the intake and subsequent dose to an exposed individual. The thyroid dose received is influenced by the route through which 131I enters the body and its subsequent clearance, absorption and movement throughout the body. The radioactive iodine taken up in the gas-exchange tissues is cleared to other tissues or absorbed into the bloodstream of the individual and transferred to other organs. Iodine in the circulatory system is then taken up by the thyroid gland with resulting dose to that tissue. The magnitude of and uncertainty in the thyroid dose is important to the assessment of individuals exposed to airborne releases of radioiodine. Age- and gender-specific modelling parameters have resulted in significant differences between gas uptake, particulate deposition and inhalation dose conversion factors for each age and gender group. Inhalation dose conversion factors and their inherent uncertainty are markedly affected by the type of iodine intake. These differences are expected due to the modelling of particulate deposition versus uptake of gas in the respiratory tract. Inhalation dose estimates via iodine gases are very similar and separate classifications may not be necessarily based on this assessment.     

Radon: a special case in radiation protection

The conversion conventions of ICRP 65 are based on equality of detriment, not on dosimetry. They are derived from epidemiological studies on miners by comparing the risk of having fatal lung cancer with the detriment associated with a unit of exposure in ICRP 60. Things have moved on since ICRP 65 and the new scientific evidence (numerator change, denominator change and also the dosimetric approach in ICRP 66) is pointing away from ICRP 65 in the direction of the long-established UNSCEAR conversion factor of 9 (nSv h(-1))/(Bq m(-3)) radon progeny exposure, which is 50% higher than the ICRP 65 conversion convention for members of the public. Anyhow, smoking, by the almost multiplicative relationship with radon, determines to a considerable extent the lung cancer risk. Although there is a fairly general consensus among health physicists that radon exposure constitutes the largest and most variable contribution to the population exposure from natural sources, they are divided between themselves on the numerical value of the risk estimates and on the need and urgency to incite the population to take action. This relaxed attitude to radon exposure is reflected in the regulatory approach, which is very much in line with the perceived risk by the population.     

Uncertainty analysis of doses from ingestion of plutonium and americium

Uncertainty analyses have been performed on the biokinetic model for americium currently used by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and the model for plutonium recently derived by Leggett, considering acute intakes by ingestion by adult members of the public. The analyses calculated distributions of doses per unit intake. Those parameters having the greatest impact on prospective doses were identified by sensitivity analysis; the most important were the fraction absorbed from the alimentary tract, f(1), and rates of uptake from blood to bone surfaces. Probability distributions were selected based on the observed distribution of plutonium and americium in human subjects where possible; the distributions for f(1) reflected uncertainty on the average value of this parameter for non-specified plutonium and americium compounds ingested by adult members of the public. The calculated distributions of effective doses for ingested (239)Pu and (241)Am were well described by log-normal distributions, with doses varying by around a factor of 3 above and below the central values; the distributions contain the current ICRP Publication 67 dose coefficients for ingestion of (239)Pu and (241)Am by adult members of the public. Uncertainty on f(1) values had the greatest impact on doses, particularly effective dose. It is concluded that: (1) more precise data on f(1) values would have a greater effect in reducing uncertainties on doses from ingested (239)Pu and (241)Am, than reducing uncertainty on other model parameter values and (2) the results support the dose coefficients (Sv Bq(-1) intake) derived by ICRP for ingestion of (239)Pu and (241)Am by adult members of the public.     

Assessment of environmental radon hazard using human respiratory tract models

Radon is a natural radioactive gas derived from geological materials. It has been estimated that about half of the total effective dose received by human beings from all sources of ionizing radiation is attributed to 222Rn and its short-lived progeny. In this paper, the use of human respiratory tract models to assess the health hazard from environmental radon is reviewed. A short history of dosimetric models for the human respiratory tract from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is first presented. The most important features of the newest model published by ICRP in 1994 (as ICRP Publication 66) are then described, including the morphometric model, physiological parameters, radiation biology, deposition of aerosols, clearance model and dose weighting. Comparison between different morphometric models and comparison between different deposition models are then given. Finally, the significance of various parameters in the lung model is discussed, including aerosol parameters, subject related parameters, target and cell related parameters, and parameters that define the absorption of radon from the lungs to blood. Dosimetric calculations gave a dose conversion coefficient of 15 mSv/WLM, which is higher than the value 5 mSv/WLM derived from epidemiological studies. ICRP stated that dosimetric models should only be used for comparison of doses in the human lungs resulted from different exposure conditions.     

Determination of the solubility and size distribution of radioactive aerosols in the uranium processing plant at NRCN

Inhalation is the main route of internal exposure to radioactive aerosols in the nuclear industry. To assess the radiation dose from the intake of these aerosols, it is necessary to know their physical (aerodynamic diameter distribution) and chemical (dissolution rate in extracellular lung fluid) characteristics. Air samples were taken from the uranium processing plant at the Nuclear Research Center, Negev. Measurements of aerodynamic diameter distribution using a cascade impactor indicated an average activity median aerodynamic diameter value close to 5 microm, in accordance with the recent recommended values of International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model. Solubility profiles of these aerosols were determined by performing in vitro solubility tests over 100 d in a simultant solution of the extracellular fluid. The tests indicated that the uranium aerosols should be assigned to an absorption between Types M and S (as defined by the ICRP Publication 66 model).     

Uncertainties in dose coefficients for intakes of tritiated water and organically bound forms of tritium by members of the public

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) provides models for the calculation of doses from intakes of radionuclides, including intakes of tritium as tritiated water (HTO) or organically bound tritium (OBT). The ICRP models for HTO and OBT are explained and the assumptions made are examined. The reliability of dose estimates is assessed in terms of uncertainties in central estimates for population groups. The models consider intakes of HTO and OBT by ingestion and inhalation by adults and children and doses to the fetus following intakes by the mother. The analysis includes uncertainties in the absorption of OBT to blood, incorporation of tritium into OBT in body tissues, retention times in tissues, transfer to the fetus and the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of tritium beta emissions compared with gamma rays. Heterogeneity of dose within tissues and cells is also considered. For intakes as HTO, dose is predominantly due to distribution and retention of HTO in body water and it was concluded that adult doses are reliable to within a factor of 2. For intakes of OBT, the extent of incorporation into OBT in body tissues results in greater uncertainties with estimates relying on animal data for selected compounds. The analysis indicated that adult doses from OBT can be considered to be known to within a factor of 3. Greater uncertainties in estimated doses for children and for in utero exposures were considered. Central values from the uncertainty analyses of doses for HTO and OBT were greater than the corresponding ICRP dose coefficients by about a factor of 2, mainly due to the inclusion of uncertainties in RBE for tritium. A detailed assessment of doses using appropriate parameters and considering uncertainties would be of particular importance in situations where the dose may approach dose limits or constraints. For exposures to known forms of OBT, specific dose assessments may be required.     

Some Future Perspectives for Unit Dose Inhalation Aerosols

Unit dose inhalation aerosols fail to achieve optimal lung deposition even though this can be achieved by dispersing 1-5 µm aerodynamic diameter particles in air. Dry powder generators require rapid inhalation for actuation and fail to deaggregate and release much of their powder charge because of high particulate adhesion forces. Conversely, pressurized metered dose inhalers (MDIs) fail because emergent propellant droplets are too large and travel too fast. The present unreliable dosimetry associated with the MDI stems from a desire to administer the whole of the metered dose. Rational design should concede on this point and concentrate on reducing primary droplet size and preventing emission of non-respirable large droplets. The loss of a constant proportion of each metered dose in the device and not the patient would be a major achievement. Improved inhalation dosimetry will facilitate future formulation developments designed to sustain local activity in the lung. This may be achieved by reducing particle dissolution rates in the airways.     

Some Future Perspectives for Unit Dose Inhalation Aerosols

Abstract

Unit dose inhalation aerosols fail to achieve optimal lung deposition even though this can be achieved by dispersing 1-5 µm aerodynamic diameter particles in air. Dry powder generators require rapid inhalation for actuation and fail to deaggregate and release much of their powder charge because of high particulate adhesion forces. Conversely, pressurized metered dose inhalers (MDIs) fail because emergent propellant droplets are too large and travel too fast. The present unreliable dosimetry associated with the MDI stems from a desire to administer the whole of the metered dose. Rational design should concede on this point and concentrate on reducing primary droplet size and preventing emission of non-respirable large droplets. The loss of a constant proportion of each metered dose in the device and not the patient would be a major achievement. Improved inhalation dosimetry will facilitate future formulation developments designed to sustain local activity in the lung. This may be achieved by reducing particle dissolution rates in the airways.     

Application of morphological and physiological parameters representative of a Brazilian population sample in the respiratory tract model

The human respiratory tract model (HRTM) adopted by ICRP in its Publication 66 accounts for the morphology and physiology of the respiratory tract. The characteristics of air drawn into the lungs and exhaled are greatly influenced by the morphology of the respiratory tract, which causes numerous changes in pressure, flow rate, direction and humidity as air moves into and out of the lungs. These characteristics are important to determine the fractional deposition. It is known that the morphology and physiology are influenced by environmental, occupational and economic conditions. The ICRP recommends, for a reliable evaluation of the regional deposition, the use of parameters from a local population wherever such information is available. The main purpose of this study is to verify the influence of using the morphology and physiology parameters representative of a sample of the Brazilian population on the deposition model of the ICRP Publication 66 model.     

Comparison of dose estimation from occupational exposure to 239Pu using different modelling approaches

Several approaches are available for bioassay interpretation when assigning Pu doses to Mayak workers. First, a conventional approach is to apply ICRP models per se. An alternative method involves individualised fitting of bioassay data using Bayesian statistical methods. A third approach is to develop an independent dosimetry system for Mayak workers by adapting ICRP models using a dataset of available bioassay measurements for this population. Thus, a dataset of 42 former Mayak workers, who died of non-radiation effects, with both urine bioassay and post-mortem tissue data was used to test these three approaches. All three approaches proved to be adequate for bioassay and tissue interpretation, and thus for Pu dose reconstruction purposes. However, large discrepancies are observed in the resulting quantitative dose estimates. These discrepancies can, in large part, be explained by differences in the interpretation of Pu behaviour in the lungs in the context of ICRP lung model. Thus, a careful validation of Pu lung dosimetry model is needed in Mayak worker dosimetry systems.     

The radon inverse dose rate effect and high-LET galactic hazards

The lung dose rate per unit 222Rn concentration in enclosed spaces is shown to experience transitions at high radon concentrations. This has implications on the radon inverse dose rate effect. At an air change rate (ACH) of 0.194 h(-1) and relative humidity (RH) of 52.3% in a 0.283 m3 test chamber, the total human lung dose for an adult male in a residential setting (breathing rate 0.78 m3 h(-1)) would undergo a reduction of 2.5 using the ICRP 66 human respiratory tract model and the BEIR VI methodology. Using the same methodology of both Cross (Pacific Northwest Laboratory rat exposures) and Lubin et al. (miners dose rates), adjustments are necessary for effects of RH and ACHs. These adjustments, however, do not affect the reduction behaviour. It is thus shown that the enhanced deposition effect (EDE) must influence the magnitude of the purported inverse dose rate effect (IDRE). In the analysis of animal data, Cross rat exposures in a 2.0 m3 chamber, a reduction in lung dose is estimated to be over a factor of 3 the transition between the 50 and 500 WLM week(-1) dose rate range. For an estimation of the EDE, using a hypothetical 30 m3 enclosure for underground miners, we obtain a factor of approximately 4 in human lung dose reduction. Although the extensive analyses required make these results qualitative, the EDE behaviour is sufficiently conclusive that these estimates show that the radon IDRE for lung cancer must be an EDE dosimetric issue as well as a radiological lung cell dose response issue. The consequence of analysis of other animal data would achieve the same conclusion.     

Physical parameters and dose factors of the radon and thoron decay products

The dose per exposure unit of the short-lived radon and thoron decay products was calculated using a dosimetric approach. The calculations are based on a lung dose model with the structure that is related to the ICRP 66 respiratory tract model. The dose relevant parameters, unattached fraction of the decay product clusters (fp) and size distribution of the unattached and aerosol-attached decay products for different living and working places are reported. Taking into account these characteristics the dose conversion factors (DCF) of the radon and thoron decay products were estimated. In addition, the living and working places were divided concerning their aerosol parameters like particle number concentration and activity size distribution.     

Uncertainty analysis of the weighted equivalent lung dose per unit exposure to radon progeny in the home

A parameter uncertainty analysis has been performed to derive the probability distribution of the weighted equivalent dose to lung for an adult (w(lung) H(lung)) per unit exposure to radon progeny in the home. The analysis was performed using the ICRP Publication 66 human respiratory tract model (HRTM) with tissue weighting factor for the lung, w(lung) = 0.12 and the radiation weighting factor for alpha particles, wR = 20. It is assumed that the HRTM is a realistic representation of the physical and biological processes, and that the parameter values are uncertain. The parameter probability distributions used in the analysis were based on a combination of experimental results and expert judgement from several prominent European scientists. The assignment of the probability distributions describing the uncertainty in the values of the assigned fractions (ABB, Abb, AAI) of the tissue weighting factor proved difficult in practice due to lack of quantitative data. Because of this several distributions were considered. The results of the analysis give a mean value of w(lung) H(lung) per unit exposure to radon progeny in the home of 15 mSv per working level month (WLM) for a population. For a given radon gas concentration, the mean value of w(lung) H(lung) per unit exposure is 13 mSv per 200 Bq.m(-3).y of 222Rn. Parameters characterising the distributions of w(lung) H(lung) per unit exposure are given. If the ICRP weighting factors are fixed at their default values (ABB, Abb, AAI = 0.333, 0.333, 0.333; w(lung) = 0.12; and wr = 20) then on the basis of this uncertainty analysis it is extremely unlikely (P approximately 0.0007) that a value of Hw/Pp for exposure in the home is as low as 4 mSv per WLM, the value determined with the epidemiological approach. Even when the uncertainties in the ABB, Abb, AAI, values are included then this probability is predicted to be between 0.01 to 0.08 depending upon the distribution assumed for describing the uncertainties in the ABB, Abb, AAI, values. Thus, it is concluded that the uncertainties in the HRTM parameters considered in this study cannot totally account for the discrepancy between the dosimetric and epidemiological approaches.