THE STATE OF HEALTH OF PEOPLE SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF IONIZING RADIATION UNDER INDUSTRIAL-LABORATORY CONDITIONS (in Russian)
A group of 60 people exposed to gamma radiation in the course of radiographic work, and a group of 170 people working with various radiation sources were subjected to clinical tests. An additional group of 40 people who showed symptoms of radiation sickness were subjected to more careful examination. The great majority of the subjects worked with radioactivity from 1 to 5 years, but about 20% were in contact with ionizing radiation for less than one year. Functional disturbances of the nervous system characterized by headaches, insomnia, increased tendency to fatigue, and weakness occurred three times more frequently with people who worked from 2 to 5 years with radiation as compared with people who worked with radiation less than one year. A decrease in sensitivity to vibration was noted in people with signs of radiation sickness. An increased threshold of olfactory sensitivity to thymol (in 77% of the patients) and rosemary was observed in a group of 107 people. This insensitivity to smell was particularly pronounced in the second group of people who were in direct contact with radioactive materials. The arterial blood pressure was low (100 mm or lower) in 40% of the subjects, an indication of an increase in vascular permeability. There was a tendency for the total albumins to increase, but the increase of globulin was especially marked in that the normal ratio of albumin to globulin of l.3 to l.82 was lowered to 0.94 to 1.2. The leukocyte and thrombocyte count was quite variable. A tendency to a slight lymnphocytosis occurred more often. A neutrophilic shift to the left was frequently observed. In a significant number of cases there was a tendency to a moderate decrease in thrombocyte production. The most characteristic change in the blood was a heightened reticulocytosis observable in 40% of the subjects. There was a clear tendency to a prolonged bleeding time in almost one-half the patients, while other symptoms of hemorrhage such as a lower thrombocyte count were absent. The frequency of occurrence of cataracts in a group of 130 people could be correlated with the time of exposure to radiation. The relative frequency of cataracts was 7% for those under 40 years of age and 14% for those above 40 years of age for less than 5 years service. It was 25% for those under 40 years of age and 50% for those above 40 years of age for 6 to 10 years of service. It was 66% for those ahove 40 years of age with greater than 10 years of service. The possibility of some unknown process initiated by ionizing radiation that results in dystrophy changes in the eye cannot be excluded at this time. (TTT)
- Research Organization:
- Originating Research Org. not identified
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-002508
- OSTI ID:
- 4118600
- Journal Information:
- Trudy Vsesoyuz. Konf. Med. Radiol., Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-61
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- Russian
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