Published 6 issues per year
ISSN Print: 0018-8166
ISSN Online: 1943-5991
Indexed in
Studying of the Equivalence of Radioactive and Chemical Contamination Effects of a Natural Population of Aquatic Organisms: a Methodology
ABSTRACT
Approaches to the identification and equi-dosimetric assessment of radiation, chemical and combined effects on natural populations of aquatic organisms are proposed. These approaches are based on the generalization of author's previous experimental data concerning separate and combined effects of ionizing radiation and chemical mutagens (heavy metals and organochlorine compounds) on crustacean and fish embryos, as well as on results of field investigations carried out before and after the Chernobyl accident. It is proposed to use the following criteria for the identification and equi-dosimetric evaluation of damaging factors: a comparison of cytogenetic effects in mutagen equivalent doses, distribution patterns of chromosome aberrations in cells, and a mean number of aberrations per an aberrant cell.