Children Exposed to Chronic Contamination after the Chernobyl Accident: Cytogenetic and Radiotoxicological Analyses

• Published in: Archives of environmental health Vol. 53; no. 5; pp. 344 - 346
• Main Authors: Grollino, Maria G., Eleuteri, Patrizia, Mark, Fong L., Bazzarri, Sandro, Cavallo, Delia, Crescenzi, Giovanni Serlupi, Vita, Raffaele de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Taylor & Francis Group 01.09.1998; Heldref
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biological effects of radiation; Body Burden; Child; Chromosome Aberrations; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Italy; Lymphocytes; Male; Power Plants; Radioactive Fallout; Radioactive Hazard Release; Radiocontamination; Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics; Ukraine; Belarus; Eurasia; Eastern Europe; Europe; Russia; Italy; Ukraine; Human; Chromosomal aberration; Ionizing radiation; Accident; Toxicity; Low dose; Cytogenetics; Radioactive contamination; Nuclear explosion; Biological effect; Child; Lymphocyte
• ISSN: 0003-9896
• DOI: 10.1080/00039899809605719

In this study, we describe cytogenetic studies of lymphocytes obtained from children who were exposed after the Chernobyl accident to low doses of ionizing radiation. We sought to determine possible chromosomal damage relative to internal contamination, as measured by whole-body counter and urine radiotoxicological analyses. The study was performed during a 1-mo period on the peripheral blood of children hosted in Italy, but who resided in contaminated regions of the Russian Federation and Belarus. We used conventional cytogenetics to detect chromosomal aberrations. In some cases, we also used "chromosome painting" to look for stable aberrations. There were more acentric fragments in subjects than in controls; a few chromosome and chromatid breaks werefound in the subjects, but this finding did not differ significantly between subjects and controls.