A simple method to irradiate blood cells in vitro with radon gas.

The design and dosimetry of a novel in vitro radon irradiation facility to investigate cytogenetic damage induced by radon and progeny is described. The system offers a 4pi geometry for uniform irradiation, proving a versatile and convenient facility for irradiation of whole blood cells in suspension or media. Doses can be controlled as exact volumes of the gas can be dispensed and measured by the Lucas cell. Irradiation of blood samples could be carried out in a unique and safe manner and the present study is an attempt to demonstrate the usefulness of a facility to expose blood lymphocytes in vitro to radon and its decay products for chromosome aberration analysis. The preliminary results obtained using this facility are presented. Results show an increase in dicentric frequency with increasing concentration of radon (r = 0.97, P < 0.0001). Multiple aberrations in a single cell, characteristic of high linear energy transfer radiation, confirm the effect of alpha exposure.