Study of worker’s exposure to Tantalum-bearing particles in a mining and metallurgical plant

Cunha, Kenya Moore Dias da; Pereira, K C Dalia; Guimarães, Jean Rémy Davée; Lima, C.; Nascimento, J E C; Lima, Rosilda Maria Gomes de; Hecht, Adam; Fiel, João Cláudio Batista

doi:10.1007/s10653-016-9849-6

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The biological pathways from the respiratory tract to the rest of the body depend on the dissolution of particles in the lung fluids and absorption into the blood and then transfer to other organs. This is very specific to the chemical matrix of the particle and is commonly treated with a compartment model with different transfer rates 29 . Even though the respiratory tract has been examined with compartment models 30,31 , fine details on particulate distributions within the respiratory tract were neglected and treated as evenly mapped within each compartment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The approach of using CFPD for aerosol deposition in image-based human airways has demonstrated success in pharmaceutical research with flexibility and control over respiratory conditions and particle sizes but has not been widely used in radiation dosimetry. The granular information on particle size and position can also be used as a starting kernel for radiation simulations within the lungs, as is performed here, or for follow-on biokinetics studies 29 . Dissolution and absorption to transport throughout the body is beyond the immediate scope of this work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung

Talaat

Baldez

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Despite extensive efforts in studying radioactive aerosols, including the transmission of radionuclides in different chemical matrices throughout the body, the internal organ-specific radiation dose due to inhaled radioactive aerosols has largely relied on experimental deposition data and simplified human phantoms. Computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) has proven to be a reliable tool in characterizing aerosol transport in the upper airways, while Monte Carlo based radiation codes allow accurate simulation of radiation transport. The objective of this study is to numerically assess the radiation dosimetry due to particles decaying in the respiratory tract from environmental radioactive exposures by coupling CFPD with Monte Carlo N-Particle code, version 6 (MCNP6). A physiologically realistic mouth-lung model extending to the bifurcation generation G9 was used to simulate airflow and particle transport within the respiratory tract. Polydisperse aerosols with different distributions were considered, and deposition distribution of the inhaled aerosols on the internal airway walls was quantified. The deposition mapping of radioactive aerosols was then registered to the respiratory tract of an image-based whole-body adult male model (VIP-Man) to simulate radiation transport and energy deposition. computer codes were developed for geometry visualization, spatial normalization, and source card definition in MCNP6. Spatial distributions of internal radiation dosimetry were compared for different radionuclides (131 i, 134,137 cs, 90 Sr-90 Y, 103 Ru and 239,240 Pu) in terms of the radiation fluence, energy deposition density, and dose per decay. Radioactive aerosols arise from various sources such as nuclear accidents, natural decay processes, and the decommissioning of nuclear reactors 1-3. Highly radioactive micro-particles were released to the surrounding environment in the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi accidents 1,4. The aerosol particles released from accidents and natural decay processes may remain suspended in the air for extended periods, be incorporated into soil particles that can reenter the air, or be inhaled by humans or animals. When aerosol particles are inhaled, a fraction of the inhaled particles deposit in the respiratory tract, while the rest is exhaled out 5-9. The deposition fraction is dependent on many parameters such as the geometry of the respiratory airways, the particle size of the inhaled aerosol, and the breathing condition 10,11. Inhaled radioactive aerosols can expose internal organs to radiation for extended periods and may induce a spectrum of functional and morphological changes, such as genetic mutations and carcinogenesis 12,13. Their severity can be related to the absorbed radiation dose in the different specific tissues, which is further related to the number of radioactive particles inhaled, how long they stay, and the type of radiation they emit. Unlike fat and muscles being the main internal defense to external exposures, there is nothing to protect cells and tissues of sus...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung

Talaat

Baldez

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Radioactive aerosols are naturally present in the environment and can be released in high concentrations in nuclear accidents and in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Besides the large scale, the sudden generation from severe accidents, such as in Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi [6,7] can chronically generate an appreciable amount of radioactive aerosols during power plant decommissioning, such as metal cutting [8] and concrete sanitation [9], as well as in mining [10,11], which has the potential for exposing the worker to an airborne radiological threat. Continued study of inhaled radioactive aerosols is needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of CFPD, compartment, and uniform distribution models for radiation dosimetry of radionuclides in the lung

Talaat

Hecht

2021

J. Radiol. Prot.

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Radioactive aerosols that arise from natural sources and nuclear accidents can be a long-term hazard to human health. Despite the heterogeneous particle deposition in the respiratory tract, uniform aerosol doses have long been assumed in respiratory radiation dosimetry predictions, such as in the compartment and uniform distribution models. It is unclear how these deposition patterns affect internal radiation doses, which are critical in the health assessment of radioactive hazards. This work seeks to quantify the radio-dosimetry sensitivity to initial deposition patterns by comparing computational and compartment/uniform models. A new approach was developed to implement the compartment model into voxel phantoms (e.g. VIP-man) for radiation dosimetry. The calculated radiation fluence, energy deposition density and organ doses were compared to those obtained from coupling computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) with Monte Carlo radiation transport and to those obtained from uniform source distribution approximation. The results show that the source particle distribution within the respiratory system substantially influences the radiation dosimetry distribution. The compartment and uniform models underestimated aerosol deposition in the crania ridge, leading to lower doses in the trachea and surrounding organs. For 0.5 MeV gammas, the CFPD-Monte Carlo N-particle (MCNP) model predicted a tracheal dose twice that of the compartment model and four times the uniform model. For 1 MeV betas, the CFPD-MCNP-predicted tracheal dose is 2.6 times that of the compartment model and 14 times the uniform model. Compared to the compartment/uniform models, the CFPD approach predicted a 50% lower beta dose in the lung but higher beta doses in the heart (six times), liver (four times) and stomach (2.5 times). It is suggested that including compartments for the lung periphery and tracheal carina ridge may improve the dosimetry accuracy of compartment models.

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“…Occupational pathology of respiratory organs (chronic dust bronchitis, pneumoconiosis) depends on the mineralogical structure of ore dust, size and shape of its particles, as well as exposure levels and duration [12][13][14].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational health risk for workers from basic occupational groups employed at copper and zinc ore mining enterprises: Assessment and management

Shaykhlislamova¹,

Karimova²,

Beigul³

et al. 2022

Health Risk Analysis

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A great share of workers employed at polymetallic ores mining have to face harmful working conditions at their workplaces. To provide safe working conditions for them and to preserve their health is a vital task occupational medicine has to tackle. Polymetallic ore mining enterprises employ certain common technological processes; nevertheless, there are specific features depending on ore mining techniques and the mineralogical composition of different ores. These features determine differences both in working conditions and in occupational risks of developing occupational morbidity (OM) and work-related morbidity (WRM). By now, there have been enough studies on peculiarities of occupational health risks for workers employed at sulfide ore mines, copper-nickel ore mines and ferruginous quartzite mines. Considerably less attention has been given to assessing occupational risks for workers dealing with mining and processing copper-zinc ores. We performed complex clinical and hygienic examinations at a major copper-zinc ore mining enterprise located in the Southern Urals. The research results gave grounds for determining a category of working conditions, establishing formation peculiarities and the structure of occupational and work-related diseases among workers from various occupational groups. Occupational risks were assessed considering hygienic and medical-biological indicators. We established the highest occupational health risks for shaft sinkers, followed by drilling unit operators, timberers, excavator drivers, load haul dumper (LHD) operators and underground self-propelled machine (USPM) operators. The research results gave grounds for developing a conceptual model of assessing and managing occupational risks in the branch. The urgency of developing and implementing activities aimed at risk mitigation should be determined depending on how validated a risk is and on its rates established for specific occupational groups.

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Study of worker’s exposure to Tantalum-bearing particles in a mining and metallurgical plant

Cited by 4 publications

References 31 publications

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung

A comparison of CFPD, compartment, and uniform distribution models for radiation dosimetry of radionuclides in the lung

Occupational health risk for workers from basic occupational groups employed at copper and zinc ore mining enterprises: Assessment and management

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