Dose Estimation of Landfill Disposal of Removed Soil Generated Outside Fukushima Prefecture

The dicentric chromosome (DC) assay accurately quantifies exposure to radiation; however, manual and semi-automated assignment of DCs has limited its use for a potential large-scale radiation incident. The Automated Dicentric Chromosome Identifier and Dose Estimator (ADCI) software automates unattended DC detection and determines radiation exposures, fulfilling IAEA criteria for triage biodosimetry. This study evaluates the throughput of high-performance ADCI (ADCI-HT) to stratify exposures of populations in 15 simulated population scale radiation exposures. ADCI-HT streamlines dose estimation using a supercomputer by optimal hierarchical scheduling of DC detection for varying numbers of samples and metaphase cell images in parallel on multiple processors. We evaluated processing times and accuracy of estimated exposures across census-defined populations. Image processing of 1744 samples on 16,384 CPUs required 1 h 11 min 23 s and radiation dose estimation based on DC frequencies required 32 sec. Processing of 40,000 samples at 10 exposures from five laboratories required 25 h and met IAEA criteria (dose estimates were within 0.5 Gy; median = 0.07). Geostatistically interpolated radiation exposure contours of simulated nuclear incidents were defined by samples exposed to clinically relevant exposure levels (1 and 2 Gy). Analysis of all exposed individuals with ADCI-HT required 0.6–7.4 days, depending on the population density of the simulation.

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Satellite-Based Personal UV Dose Estimation

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12020268 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 268

Author(s):

Todd C. Harris ◽

Laurent Vuilleumier ◽

Claudine Backes ◽

Athanasios Nenes ◽

David Vernez

Keyword(s):

Measurement Errors ◽

Low Cost ◽

Public Health Research ◽

Mobile App ◽

Population Exposure ◽

Dose Estimation ◽

Annual Dose ◽

Significant Step ◽

Uv Dose ◽

Dosimetry Measurement

Epidemiology and public health research relating to solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure usually relies on dosimetry to measure UV doses received by individuals. However, measurement errors affect each dosimetry measurement by unknown amounts, complicating the analysis of such measurements and their relationship to the underlying population exposure and the associated health outcomes. This paper presents a new approach to estimate UV doses without the use of dosimeters. By combining new satellite-derived UV data to account for environmental factors and simulation-based exposure ratio (ER) modelling to account for individual factors, we are able to estimate doses for specific exposure periods. This is a significant step forward for alternative dosimetry techniques which have previously been limited to annual dose estimation. We compare our dose estimates with dosimeter measurements from skiers and builders in Switzerland. The dosimetry measurements are expected to be slightly below the true doses due to a variety of dosimeter-related measurement errors, mostly explaining why our estimates are greater than or equal to the corresponding dosimetry measurements. Our approach holds much promise as a low-cost way to either complement or substitute traditional dosimetry. It can be applied in a research context, but is also fundamentally well-suited to be used as the basis for a dose-estimating mobile app that does not require an external device.

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Photobleaching kinetics, photoproduct formation, and dose estimation during ALA induced PpIX PDT of MLL cells under well oxygenated and hypoxic conditions

Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences ◽

10.1039/b511807g ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 73-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Jonathan S. Dysart ◽

Michael S. Patterson

Keyword(s):

Dose Estimation ◽

Hypoxic Conditions

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Distrust in government and its relationship with mental health after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764020968129 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002076402096812

Author(s):

Maiko Fukasawa ◽

Norito Kawakami ◽

Maki Umeda ◽

Tsuyoshi Akiyama ◽

Naoko Horikoshi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power Plant ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Residential Area ◽

National Government ◽

Nuclear Power Plant Accident ◽

Fukushima Prefecture ◽

The Government

Background: Distrust in authorities has negative effects on mental health. Aims: In this study, we aimed to explore whether the impact of distrust in government on mental health became stronger in the area heavily affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Methods: We examined the effects of distrust in the national government on depressive symptoms three years after the accident among community residents in Fukushima prefecture using those in the Kanto area (the area surrounding Tokyo) as a control. A questionnaire survey was administered to a random sample of 1000 residents in Fukushima prefecture and 1650 residents in the Kanto area. Distrust in the national government was assessed using a four-point single-item scale. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The associations of residential area (i.e. living in Fukushima prefecture or in the Kanto area) and distrust in the national government with depressive symptoms were examined, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and disaster-related experiences using multivariate linear regression analyses. We used the interaction term of residential area and distrust in the government to explore the difference in the association between the respondents in Fukushima prefecture and those in the Kanto area. Results: Valid responses were obtained from 976 (36.8%) residents. Distrust in the government was associated with depressive symptoms and the association was stronger in Fukushima prefecture than in the Kanto area. Conclusion: The deleterious effects of distrust in the government on mental health may become more serious after a nuclear power plant accident and require careful attention during support activities in an affected area.

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