Content area
Full Text
Herrera Reyes, E., Baciu, F., Benderitter, M., Lataillade, J. J., Bey, E., Trompier, F. and Tamarat, R. Medical Response to Radiological Accidents in Latin America and International Assistance. Radiat. Res. 185, 359-365 (2016).
This article provides an overview of four radiological accidents in Latin America, and includes a history of the events, the clinical manifestations and health consequences for the exposed individuals, the medical response based on preclinical studies and the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in coordinating medical response assistance. ^ 2016 by Radiation Research Society
NUCLEAR AND RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
An emergency is a nonroutine situation that necessitates prompt action, primarily to mitigate a hazard or limit the adverse consequences for human health and safety, quality of life, property and the environment. It includes situations for which prompt action is warranted to mitigate the effects of a perceived hazard. A nuclear or radiological emergency involves hazards due to radiation exposure or due to the energy resulting from a nuclear chain reaction or from the decay of the products of a chain reaction (1).
From 1945 to 2005, there were 565 significant nuclear or radiological emergencies reported worldwide, in which 3,000 individuals were exposed and 169 fatalities occurred (2, 3). From 2000 to 2010, 130 individuals were exposed and 14 fatalities occurred in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. In Latin America alone, there were 46 radiological accidents from 1962 to 2014, primarily associated with industrial activities (35%), irradiators (27%) and clinical sources (12%) (3). Since 1980, the number of reported overexposures in the medical sector has increased (4).
The low frequency of radiological accidents, the paucity of information available on the subject to students at medical schools and the nonspecific clinical manifestations, especially at earlier stages, are some of the common factors that contribute to the late identification and delayed diagnosis of affected individuals in nuclear or radiological emergencies (5). Some of the typical clinical manifestations are listed in Table 1 (6).
This review provides an overview of some of the medical experiences and lessons learned from radiological accidents that occurred in Latin America.
THE RADIOLOGICAL ACCIDENT IN YANANGO
On February 20, 1999, a radiological accident occurred in Yanango, Peru. A worker on a hydroelectric construction site picked...