Modelling of cell deaths and cell transformations of inhaled radon in homes and mines based on a biophysical and microdosimetric model

Abstract

Purpose: In this study a biophysical mechanism-based microdosimetric model was applied to predict the biological effects of inhaled radon progenies in homes and in uranium mines.Materials and methods: The radon daughter concentrations of more than 2000 homes were averaged in case of home exposure and the New Mexico uranium mine data were used in case of exposure in mines. The complex microdosimetric model applied in this work was developed by combining a computational fluid and particle dynamics (CFPD) lung model with a lung dosimetry model that quantify the local distribution of radiation burden and the Unit-Track-Length Model, which characterizes the biological outcome of the exposure.Results: Our results show that the inhomogeneity of radon daughter deposition is stronger in the case of mines. Consequently, the numbers of cells which receive multiple hits and the maxima of radiation burdens are significantly higher in mines. In contrast to this, the distributions and maximum values of cell transformation probabilities are very similar in the two cases.Conclusions: If the same amounts of inhaled progenies are considered then primary cellular consequences are very similar in case of homes and mines, however, the local maxima of radiation burden are higher in mines.