Anomalously high excretion of Pu in urine following inhalation of plutonium nitrate?

A study of the biokinetics of inhaled plutonium nitrate in two volunteers has been carried out. Low doses (approximately 80 microSv) were achievable because tracers of high isotopic purity were used: 237Pu (measurable by X ray spectrometry) and 244Pu (measurable by accelerator mass spectrometry). Lu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation protection dosimetry 2003, Vol.105 (1-4), p.321-324
Main Authors: ETHERINGTON, G, STRADLING, G. N, HODGSON, A, FIFIELD, L. K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Inhalation
Biological and medical sciences
Humans
Incidental Findings
Liver - metabolism
Lung - metabolism
Male
Medical sciences
Nitrates - administration & dosage
Nitrates - blood
Nitrates - pharmacokinetics
Nitrates - urine
Plutonium - administration & dosage
Plutonium - blood
Plutonium - pharmacokinetics
Plutonium - urine
Radiation Dosage
Radiometry - methods
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A study of the biokinetics of inhaled plutonium nitrate in two volunteers has been carried out. Low doses (approximately 80 microSv) were achievable because tracers of high isotopic purity were used: 237Pu (measurable by X ray spectrometry) and 244Pu (measurable by accelerator mass spectrometry). Lung retention, amount in blood, uptake to the liver and skeleton, and urinary and faecal excretion were measured. The measured urinary excretion rates are about a factor of three higher than those predicted from urine excretion data measured following intravenous injection of plutonium to the same volunteers. If similar biokinetic behaviour occurs in workers exposed to plutonium nitrate, intakes by inhalation and corresponding committed doses assessed by urine bioassay could be consistently overestimated by a similar factor.
ISSN:0144-8420
1742-3406
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a006248