Abstract

A method was developed to assess uranium exposure hazards at different work stations based on industrial experience. Applied to uranium dioxide (UO2) the method involves four steps: (1) Characterisation of the industrial compound, including physico-chemical properties (density 6 g.cm-3, surface area 1.9 m2.g-1, X ray spectrum UO2 + x% U3O8, and uranium enrichment 3.247%). (2) In vitro biological solubility (biological half-life 850 days with Gamble solution and 200 days with a bicarbonate medium). (3) Assessment of work station concentration (0.1 - 14 Bq.m-3) and particle size distribution (AMAD 4 - 10 µm). (4) Monitoring workers by ? spectrometry (140 day biological half-life) and by faecal and urinary excretion analysis (1:1000 faeces/spectrometry ratio). Following an incident, urinary excretion exceeded faecal excretion.

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