Distribution of plutonium particles in the lungs of Mayak workers

Lung tissues from workers at the Mayak Production Association were examined to determine the distribution of plutonium (Pu) activity in various lung compartments. Stereological sampling methods and autoradiography were used. Pu particles were identified by microscopic examination of autoradiographs...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation protection dosimetry 2003-01, Vol.105 (1-4), p.81-84
Main Authors: Hahn, F F, Romanov, S A, Guilmette, R A, Nifatov, A P, Zaytseva, Y V, Diel, J H, Allen, S W, Lyovkina, Y V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Air Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis
Air Pollutants, Radioactive - pharmacokinetics
Body Burden
Female
fibrosis
Humans
Inhalation Exposure - analysis
Lung - metabolism
Lung - pathology
Male
Middle Aged
Occupational Exposure - analysis
Plutonium - analysis
Plutonium - pharmacokinetics
Power Plants
Radiation Dosage
Radiometry - methods
Risk Assessment - methods
Russia
Tissue Distribution
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Lung tissues from workers at the Mayak Production Association were examined to determine the distribution of plutonium (Pu) activity in various lung compartments. Stereological sampling methods and autoradiography were used. Pu particles were identified by microscopic examination of autoradiographs and localised in one of six normal anatomic sites and two sites of fibrosis (parenchymal, non-parenchymal). Particle activity was determined by counting the numbers of tracks emanating from the particles. Over 50% of the Pu activity was localised in sites of fibrosis, which had significantly higher than average activity for the lung. Over 40% of the activity was in lung parenchyma. Activity in the bronchovascular interstitium was significantly lower than average. These results support the hypothesis that Pu activity is not uniformly distributed in the lung, with long-term retained particles concentrated in scars of the lung. The results may significantly affect estimates of dose from inhaled Pu.
ISSN:0144-8420
1742-3406
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a006326