SREL Reprint #2701

Environmental biodosimetry: A biologically relevant tool for ecological risk assessment and biomonitoring

B. Ulsh1, T. G. Hinton2, J. D. Congdon2, L. C. Dugan3, F. W. Whicker1, and J. S. Bedford1

1Department of Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
3Biology and Biotechnology Research Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, PO Box 808, L-452, Livermore, CA 94551, USA

Abstract: Biodosimetry, the estimation of received doses by determining the frequency of radiation- induced chromosome aberrations, is widely applied in humans acutely exposed as a result of accidents or for clinical purposes, but biodosimetric techniques have not been utilized in organisms chronically exposed to radionuclides in contaminated environments. The application of biodosimetry to environmental exposure scenarios could greatly improve the accuracy, and reduce the uncertainties, of ecological risk assessments and biomonitoring studies, because no assumptions are required regarding external exposure rates and the movement of organisms into and out of contaminated areas. Furthermore, unlike residue analyses of environmental media, environmental biodosimetry provides a genetically relevant biomarker of cumulative lifetime exposure. Symmetrical chromosome translocations can impact reproductive success, and could therefore prove to be ecologically relevant as well. We describe our experience in studying aberrations in the yellow-bellied slider turtle as an example of environmental biodosimetry.

Keywords: Environmental biodosimetry; Chromosome aberrations; Fluorescent in-situ hybridization; Yellow-bellied slider turtle; Trachemys scripta

SREL Reprint #2701

Ulsh, B., T. G. Hinton, J. D. Congdon, L. C. Dugan, F. W. Whicker, and J. S. Bedford. 2003. Environmental biodosimetry: A biologically relevant tool for ecological risk assessment and biomonitoring. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 66: 121-139.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).