Brain Imaging and Hematological Evaluation of the Risk of Frequent Exposure to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Petroleum Oil Fields in Rats

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Physics department faculty of science Al Azhar University

2 Physics Dep., Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

3 Radiation Biology Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.

4 Physics Department, Faculty of Science Al-Azhar University, Cairo

Abstract

The technologically enhanced activities of gas and oil zones or industries produce a huge product value of underground materials including naturally occurring radioactive materials as a form of products or waste. The present research aims to assess the possible effects of exposure to a chronic dose of TE-NORM on the rat’s brain by analyzing the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pre- and post-irradiation, in addition to studying the changes in body weight and some hematological indices such as the WBC count, percentage of Lymphocyte, Mean Platelet Volume, and Platelet count. The examined rats were exposed for 60 days to TE-NORM with a total dose of 16 mSv. Subsequently, the rats were scanned with magnetic resonance imaging for brain anatomical examination for an MRI study. The results indicated that there are no significant changes between MRIs of pre- and post-irradiation. In the remaining tests, there were significant changes observed in the hematological indices tested and there is a noteworthy weight loss after the period of exposure. Detection of the neurological and physiological effects of TE-NORM exposure needs more efforts in the future with different methods and at different exposure intervals.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics