Uranium concentration in blood samples of Southern Iraqi leukemia patients using CR-39 track detector.

Anees A Al-Hamzawi,M S Jaafar,Nada F Tawfiq

doi:10.1007/s10967-013-2808-0

Abstract

The simple and effective technique of fission track etch has been applied to determine trace concentration of uranium in human blood samples taken from two groups of male and female participants: leukemia patients and healthy subjects group. The blood samples of leukemia patients and healthy subjects were collected from three key southern governorates namely, Basrah, Muthanna and Dhi-Qar. These governorates were the centers of intensive military activities during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars, and the discarded weapons are still lying around in these regions. CR-39 track detector was used for registration of induced fission tracks. The results show that the highest recorded uranium concentration in the blood samples of leukemia patients was 4.71 ppb (female, 45 years old, from Basrah) and the minimum concentration was 1.91 ppb (male, 3 years old, from Muthanna). For healthy group, the maximum uranium concentration was 2.15 ppb (female, 55 years old, from Basrah) and the minimum concentration was 0.86 ppb (male, 5 years old, from Dhi-Qar). It has been found that the uranium concentrations in human blood samples of leukemia patients are higher than those of the healthy group. These uranium concentrations in the leukemia patients group were significantly different (P < 0.001) from those in the healthy group.

Highlights

Uranium is one of the most serious contamination concerns because of its radioactivity and heavy-metal toxicity
The simple and effective technique of fission track etch has been applied to determine trace concentration of uranium in human blood samples taken from two groups of male and female participants: leukemia patients and healthy subjects group
It has been found that the uranium concentrations in human blood samples of leukemia patients are higher than those of the healthy group

Summary

Introduction

Uranium is one of the most serious contamination concerns because of its radioactivity and heavy-metal toxicity. Uranium and its compounds are highly toxic, which is a threat to human health and ecological balance [1]. Uranium is widespread in nature, and it exists in the form of solid, liquid, and gaseous compounds. Uranium is used as fuel in nuclear power plants and is present, in the different steps of the nuclear industry, in different forms with different isotopic compositions (natural, depleted, and enriched). Depleted uranium (DU) is a byproduct of the nuclear industry. The first use of DU was in the Gulf war in 1991 [5]. In the south of Iraq, DU was and still an environmental pollution problem because its levels raised after both Gulf wars I and II in 1991 and 2003 respectively [6]

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Conclusion