Micronucleus Induction in Vicia Faba Roots

Summary

A dose–effect relationship has been established for high-energy neutrons (maximum energy 600 MeV) within a dose range of 0·2 to 80 cGy and for low-energy neutrons produced by a ²⁵²Cf source (mean energy 2·35 MeV) for doses between 0·2 and 5 cGy. The frequency of micronuclei was found to increase linearly with dose. The relative biological effectiveness (r.b.e) values calculated using ⁶⁰Co radiation as a reference were, in the high-dose region, 4·7 ± 0·4 and 11·8 ± 1·3 for the high- and low-energy neutrons, respectively. At doses below 1 cGy constant values of 25·4 ± 4·4 and 63·7 ± 12 were reached for the respective neutron energies.

• Vicia faba
• neutrons
• r.b.e.
• micronuclei