Since the discovery of technetium (in 1937, by Perrier and Segre), technetium-99 and technetium-99m have become most familiar in the specialised literature, the behaviour of the former being of concern regarding its health impact, the latter having been used intensively in medical tests for many years. The knowledge of the characteristics and behaviour of this element in nature is currently increasing exponentially. It has become clear, however, that there is still a serious shortage of information needed to assess properly its burden and impact on man and his environment. Technetium may indeed be released from nuclear installations or as a waste product from medical applications. It is generally considered to be highly mobile as the anion TcOi, but it is also suspected to be readily reduced in soils and metabolised in living beings into lower oxidation states. The seminar was planned to analyse thoroughly the experimental results obtained up to now and to make recommendations of specific issues requiring further research. This book presents the papers of the different sessions in the order of presentation, and the conclusions drawn by three discussion groups which dealt separately with: problems of sources and distribution of man-made technetium and its radiological consequences; the chemical behaviour of technetium in different ecosystems; biochemical reactions and binding with macromolecules in various life systems. vi Preface The editors, together with the Programme Committee of the Seminar, wish to express their gratitude to the chairmen of the different sessions for their summary of the group discussions.

Advances in Radiation Biology, Volume 10, provides an overview of the state of knowledge in the field of radiation biology. The book contains seven chapters and opens with a study on DNA repair phenomena that have been explored through the use of viruses as probes. This is followed by separate chapters on the behavior of the long-lived synthetic elements and their natural analogs in food chains; the physical and clinical basis for the use of ultrasound to induce local hyperthermia in human tumors; and the role of pH changes in the etiology of thermal cell killing and the potential of low pH as an adjuvant to hyperthermia. Subsequent chapters deal with the effects of accelerated heavy charged particles on various normal tissue systems; the effect of ionizing radiations on connective tissue; and solid tumor response to combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy.