Radiation Pollution in Cancer and other Diseases Using some Immunological and Clinical Parameters Weam Saad Al-Hamadany1 , Dhuha S. Saleh2 , Muthana A. Shanshal3

Abstract

There was a noticeable increase in cancers, congenital malformations, spontaneous
abortion and other cases among Iraqi population after both Gulf Wars I and II, the present
study aimed to the detection and determination of internal radiation pollution with Depleted
Uranium (DU), and investigate the effects of this type of radiation exposure on some
immunological parameters for the first time in Iraq. A total of 88 blood samples were
collected from 45 patients and 43 healthy persons during 2009-2010; from the outpatients of
the Institute and Hospital of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine and Al-Kadhymia Teaching
Hospital in Baghdad. Results: 1. Contaminated persons with DU were 48 persons (54.5%)
from total 88 persons. 2. The places (Al-Taji, Abu-Graib, Al-Hurriyah, New Baghdad and AlSader town) recorded 44.7% of contaminated persons. 3. Effects of internal contamination
with DU; chronic radiation exposure; influenced by the dose and personal susceptibility, thus
it caused significant decrease in Eosinophils% and Lymphocytes %, Hb%, NBT+ % and most
of IFN-γ levels, while there was some elevation in Basophiles%. 4. IL-2 levels did not
affected by chronic exposure by DU. But it was affected by acute exposure to radiation since
its levels elevated significantly in radiation occupationals blood.Conclusions: Radiation
pollution as internal contamination with U and DU is a public health problem. It might be the
predisposing factor for the cases under focus since it caused immunosuppression by affecting
immune cells in number or function comparing with the non-contaminated.