钚损伤远期效应的流行病学研究进展

Epidemiological research advances on long-term effects of plutonium-induced injury

钚是核燃料循环中一类重要的放射性核素,其对人体的健康危害主要为钚衰变过程中释放的α粒子对人体的内照射。关于前苏联马雅克队列和英国塞拉菲尔德队列的流行病学研究结果显示,这两个队列由于钚接触水平不同,对于钚的致癌效应研究结果并不一致。长期接触钚可致机体免疫系统功能障碍,甚至可导致慢性炎症和免疫系统疾病;但其对于循环系统的影响尚无定论,需进一步研究。接触钚可诱导基因表达异常,导致染色体易位、端粒缩短、染色体非整倍体率增加等畸变。亲代体内沉积的钚可导致其子代出现基因突变和免疫缺陷等现象;但没有证据显示亲代接触钚与子代发生恶性肿瘤之间存在相关性。由于钚的辐射特性,世界上关于钚的人群资料有限;但核工业职业人群工作环境特殊,存在长期低剂量钚损伤的风险,有必要关注职业接触钚的远期效应,为解决目前核工业中钚的辐射危害评价、健康监护等一系列辐射防护问题提供资料。

Plutonium is an important type of radionuclide in the nuclear fuel cycle,and its main health hazard to human body is the internal radiation of the alpha particles released during the process of plutonium decay.The epidemiological study on the Mayak cohort of the former Soviet Union and the Sellafield cohort of the United Kingdom found that the carcinogenic effects of plutonium were not consistent due to the different levels of plutonium exposure in these two different cohorts.Long-term exposure to plutonium can cause immune system dysfunction.It can even lead to chronic inflammation and immune system diseases.The impact of plutonium on the circulatory system is inconclusive,and further research is needed.Plutonium exposure can induce abnormal gene expression,and resulting aberrations such as chromosome translocation,telomere shortening,and increased chromosomal aneuploidy in the body.In addition,the deposition of plutonium in the parental generation can lead to genetic mutations and immunodeficiency in the offspring,but there is no evidence showing that there is a correlation between parental plutonium exposure and malignant tumors in the offspring.Due to the radiation characteristics of plutonium,the population data on plutonium in the world is limited,but the working environment of nuclear industry professionals is special,and there is a risk of long-term low-dose plutonium-induced injury.It is necessary to pay attention to the long-term effects of occupational plutonium exposure,and to provide information for solving a series of problem such as radiation hazard assessment and health monitoring of plutonium in the nuclear industry.