{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T04:57:54Z","timestamp":1790657874575,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The long-term health impact of radiation exposure is poorly documented, both in the context of accidental exposure and in that of natural exposure. While health authorities are mobilized to monitor health impacts in cases of accidental exposure\u2014albeit often for a limited duration\u2014the populations concerned by long-term natural exposure receive very little, if any, follow-up. Our research hypothesis focused on the health policies implemented during these events, and specifically on whether observing their health impact\u2014as well as studying and monitoring natural radiation exposure within the affected populations\u2014could provide useful guidance for the health officials responsible for managing such events.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To this end, we conducted an exhaustive literature review including bibliographic data base, \u201cgrey literature\u201d (internet sources and interviews) to gain the most comprehensive understanding possible of how these events are managed and their consequences for health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Oklo demonstrated that natural geological containment could immobilize radionuclides over extremely long periods with minimal environmental impact. In contrast, Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Mounana showed that recovery outcomes depend heavily on containment design, long-term monitoring, and governance. The findings highlight the need for stronger international regulations, continuous environmental surveillance, and improved accountability for radionuclide-related activities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Mounana uranium mining incident in Gabon demonstrates how inadequate containment, poor worker protection, and insufficient environmental monitoring can lead to long-term human and ecological consequences from radionuclide exposure. In contrast, the Oklo natural reactor highlights the value of natural analogue systems for improving containment strategies, regulatory oversight, long-term surveillance, and preparedness for anthropogenic nuclear and mining-related disasters.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1972731","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T04:33:24Z","timestamp":1790656404000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Oklo uranium reactor: a natural analogue informing preparedness in radionuclide-related man-made accidents"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Piero Andrea Ketura","family":"Ngouba Madinda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University","place":["Washington, DC, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tomoko","family":"Steen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Georgetown University, Medical Center","place":["Washington, DC, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jean Paul","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Georgetown University, Medical Center","place":["Washington, DC, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"503478","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mrgentox.2022.503478","article-title":"Biological and cellular responses of humans to high-level natural radiation: a clarion call for a fresh perspective on the linear no-threshold paradigm","volume":"878","author":"Ghosh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mutat Res Genet Toxicol Environ Mutagen"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"653","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60040653","article-title":"Health effects of ionizing radiation on the human body","volume":"60","author":"Talapko","year":"2024","journal-title":"Medicina (Kaunas)"},{"key":"ref3","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1093\/rpd\/ncaf119","article-title":"New insights into the Oklo natural fission reactors elucidated from isotopic studies using state-of-the-art analytical techniques","volume":"202","author":"Hidaka","year":"2026","journal-title":"Radiat Prot Dosim"},{"key":"ref5","author":"Voigt","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref6","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref7","author":"Bourguignon","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref8","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clon.2016.01.002","article-title":"Emergency responses and health consequences after the Fukushima accident; evacuation and relocation","volume":"28","author":"Hasegawa","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Oncol"},{"key":"ref10","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref11","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref12","volume-title":"Radionuclides in the Environment: Influence of Chemical Speciation and Plant Uptake on Radionuclide Migration","author":"Gupta","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"i56","DOI":"10.1093\/jrr\/rrv074","article-title":"Comparison of the accident process, radioactivity release and ground contamination between Chernobyl and Fukushima-1","volume":"56","author":"Imanaka","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Radiat Res"},{"key":"ref14","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref15","author":"Gehriger","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref16","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref17","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref18","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref19","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref20","author":"Ndong","year":"2026"},{"key":"ref21","article-title":"The world\u2019s only natural nuclear reactor. 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