Neutron risk assessment based on low dose mutation data

The authors present results on the induction, by mono-energetic neutrons, of gene and chromosomal mutations in a human hamster hybrid cell system. These AL cells have, in addition to a normal chromosome complement of Chinese hamster cells, a single human chromosome (number 11) not required for cell viability under normal conditions. After irradiation it is possible to probe for loss of markers on the human chromosome, thereby detecting changes ranging from small mutations up to total loss of the chromosome. The authors report that the mutagenic efficiency depended on the neutron energy for both the a1 and a2 loci examined. The RBEs for the a1 locus (ranging from 4.2 to 30) were considerably larger than those observed for cell lethality. (author)