Durante, M.

Fournier, C.

Günther, Marc

Kraft, G.

Maier, A.

GSI Repository

Radon exposure setup for cells and small animals ∗A. Maier1, C. Fournier1, M. Durante1,2, M. M. Gu¨nther1,3, and G. Kraft†11GSI, Darmstadt, Germany; 2TU Darmstadt, Germany; 3Helmholtz-Institut Jena, GermanyIntroductionThere is large interest in the understanding of the radio-biological response to radon exposure. This has severalreasons: Radon is a main contributor for the natural expo-sure to radiation. For chronic exposure radon is probablythe most important reason for lung tumor induction aftersmoking [1]. Radon exposure is also used in therapy of in-flammatory diseases [2]. In the GREWIS project both, thegenetic effects and anti- inflammatory action of radon andit’s progenies (see Fig. 1) are studied in vitro and in vivounder precisely controlled conditions.Figure 1: Decay chainRequirement for measurement setupFor these experiments we constructed a radon exposurechamber (see Fig. 2) where measurements with cells andsmall animals can be performed. The following exposureparameters can be adjusted and monitored:• Activity concentration of radon• Temperature• Humidity• CO2-concentration (only during cell experiments)γ-SpectroscopyA sample of 5g of activated coal was exposed to a radonactivity of 620kBq/m3 for 1h. A γ-spectrum was measuredimmediately after exposure using a HPGe-Detector. In the∗Work is supported by BMBF project funding reference number02NUK017A† g.kraft@gsi.deFigure 2: Radonchamber with (1) Radonsource, (2) Cham-ber, (3) Filter, (4) Air moistening system, (5) Waterbathspectrum (Fig. 3) the energy lines with the highest emis-sion probability are marked for the short-living decay prod-ucts Pb-214 and Bi-214 which are clearly distinct from thebackground. With these measurement we could show thefeasibility of this methode. Our next goal is to measure thedistribution of the decay products in different materials likesections of animal tissue.Figure 3: γ-spectrum of activated coal with energy lines ofthe decay products Pb-214 and Bi-214References[1] E. Radford, Potential Health Effects of Indoor Radon Expo-sure, Experimental Health Perspectives, Vol. 62, pp.281-287,1985[2] P. Deetjen et. al., Radon als Heilmittel: TherapeutischeWirkung biologischer Wirkungsmechanismus und vergle-ichende Risikobewertung, Verlag Dr. Kovac, 2005GSI SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2013 BIOPHYSICS-45doi:10.15120/GR-2014-1-BIOPHYSICS-45 247

Radon exposure setup for cells and small animals

http://repository.gsi.de/record/67950/files/BIOPHYSICS-45.pdf

Radon exposure setup for cells and small animals

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

GSI Repository