Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42257906›Full record

ReviewRadiation and environmental biophysics2026

NORM dust intake: comparison of personal air sampling and bioassays.

Gregory S Hewson, Martin I Ralph, Marcus Cattani

Abstract readReviewComparative Study
In one paragraph

Review in Radiation and environmental biophysics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Gregory S HewsonSchool of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western, 6027, Australia. gshewson@our.ecu.edu.au.
Martin I RalphSchool of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western, 6027, Australia.
Marcus CattaniSchool of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western, 6027, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Intake of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), particularly the inhalation of thorium-bearing dust in mineral sand operations, has traditionally been assessed via personal air sampling (PAS). However, data from bioassay studies suggest that the actual intake determined via PAS may be underestimated. This review integrates thorium intake estimates derived from historical bioassay datasets, such as urine, faeces, lung counting, and thoron-in-breath tests, with historical PAS data. The findings indicated that bioassay-based predictions of intake were consistently greater, with mean bioassay-to-PAS intake ratios ranging from 2.6 to 4.2. The contributing factors to this discrepancy include biokinetic model uncertainties, potential dust sampler bias, the PAS strategy, high variability of exposure within similar exposure groups (SEGs), self-absorption of alpha particles during the radiometric analysis of filtered dust samples, and nonaccounting for respiratory protection. This review suggests improvements to current PAS-based dose assessments, including sampling and analysis protocols. We recommend that PAS be supplemented by targeted bioassay monitoring, where feasible, to improve dose estimation and worker protection in NORM industries.

Indexed as

Air Pollutants, RadioactiveBiological AssayDustRadiation MonitoringThoriumHumansAir Pollutants, RadioactiveDustThoriumInternal dosimetryMiningNatural radiationPersonal air samplingThorium

Identifiers

PMID42257906
PMCPMC13486051

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.