Re: Two DU articles with a different slant

[NECNP <necnp@necnp.org>]

Franz,

         The significance of the articles that I posted is simply that 
there is a bit of new information out there regarding health effects of 
ionizing radiation that I though might be of interest to the HP types on 
this list..  I mentioned DU in the subject of my post because the new 
information was reported in the context of the DU controversy.  To take the 
single particle/cancer connection out of the context of DU, here is the 
abstract of the study report from the UK Radiation Research Society (Note 
that i added the word alpha in square brackets where the original abstract 
used a graphical alpha character):

Radiation Research: Vol. 155, No. 1, pp. 122126.

Long-Term Genomic Instability in Human Lymphocytes Induced by 
Single-Particle Irradiation

M. A. Kadhim, S. J. Marsden, and D. T. Goodhead

MRC Radiation and Genome Stability Unit, Harwell, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 0RD, 
United Kingdom

A. M. Malcolmson, M. Folkard, K. M. Prise, and B. D. Michael

Gray Laboratory Cancer Research Trust, P.O. Box 100, Mount Vernon Hospital, 
Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 2JR, United Kingdom

  AbstractKadhim, M. A., Marsden, S. J., Malcolmson, A. M., Folkard, M., 
Goodhead, D. T., Prise, K. M. and Michael, B. D. Long-Term Genomic 
Instability in Human Lymphocytes Induced by Single-Particle Irradiation.

   Recent evidence suggests that genomic instability, which is an important 
step in carcinogenesis, may be important in the effectiveness of radiation 
as a carcinogen, particularly for high-LET radiations. Understanding the 
biological effects underpinning the risks associated with low doses of 
densely ionizing radiations is complicated in experimental systems by the 
Poisson distribution of particles that can be delivered. In this study, we 
report an approach to determine the effect of the lowest possible cellular 
radiation dose of densely ionizing [alpha] particles, that of a single 
particle traversal. Using microbeam technology and an approach for 
immobilizing human T-lymphocytes, we have measured the effects of single 
[alpha]-particle traversals on the surviving progeny of cells. A 
significant increase in the proportion of aberrant cells is observed 1213 
population doublings after exposure, with a high level of chromatid-type 
aberrations, indicative of an instability phenotype. These data suggest 
that instability may be important in situations where even a single 
particle traverses human cells.

KeywordsNo Keywords Available.

© Copyright by Radiation Research Society 2001

http://apt.allenpress.com/aptonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0033-7587&vol 
ume=155&issue=01&page=0122

As to my being associated with an anti-nuclear organization, I indeed am 
anti-nuclear.  I understand your not wanting to engage in discussions with 
people who don't agree with your views, so I surely do understand if you 
don't reply.

Dave Pyles

At 04:30 PM 01/24/2001 -0600, you wrote:
>Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 01:10:53 +0100
>From: "Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@chello.at>
>To: <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
>Subject: Re: Two DU articles with a different slant
>Message-ID: <001201c0859a$200aa440$576fbad4@schoenhofer.telekabel.at>
>
>
>-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>Von: NECNP <necnp@necnp.org>
>An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
>Datum: Dienstag, 23. Jänner 2001 16:50
>Betreff: Two DU articles with a different slant
>
>
> >I usually just lurk on this list, but I thought that the following articles
> >from the UK might give you all some food for thought.  Dave Pyles
> >
>
>
>Sorry, I do not get the sense of these articles or why you posted them (of
>course I do not want to exercise censorship for postings, I just am
>curious). The claims are not new, not new is that the reasoning that one
>alpha-particle   w i l l   cause cancer is something which even the (wo)man
>from the street will understand as nonsense, when you will explain to him or
>her (sorry - her or him) that the body is loaded with all kind of
>radioactive stuff, ranging from K-40, C-14, T to radium, thorium, daughter
>products which exceeds anything that could be incorporated from depleted
>uranium in the Gulf region or Kosovo by orders of magnitude and that mankind
>would have vanished because of cancer since millions of years, if the claim
>of "one alpha is cancer" would be true. I do not want to repeat arguments,
>look at the
>other relevant postings. The facts about depleted uranium and similar stuff
>has been extensively discussed on RADSAFE, please read it. I do not believe
>that anything else has to be added.
>
> >
> >New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
> >P. O. Box 545
> >Brattleboro VT 05302-0545
>
>This is according to the web site cited clearly an antinuclear organisation.
>I have not wasted my time to go through the web site further than the
>headlines. Are you in the footsteps of Norman? I will not engage in such
>discussions again, because it would be a waste of time. I would recommend to
>others not to respond to these provocations.
>
>Or maybe I just am on the way to become paranoid because of being fed with
>all that stuff by our mass media?
>
>Franz
>
>
>
>
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New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution
P. O. Box 545
Brattleboro VT 05302-0545
(802) 257-0336
necnp@necnp.org
www.necnp.org
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