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Abstract

Radiochemical analysis of whole body donations from six former nuclear industry workers 30 or more years post-exposure revealed about 45% of the total body deposition of 239Pu and 35% of the 241Am in the respiratory tract of the four cases with inhalation exposure. These proportions are greater than predicted by the current ICRP lung model. Exclusive of the respiratory tract, the mean fractional systemic deposition of 239Pu in the tissues of five whole bodies was: liver 35.4% ± 12.5%; skeleton 53.7% ± 12.5%; striated muscle 6.5% ± 1.8% and all other organs and tissues 4.4% ± 1.7%. For 241Am, the comparable values in four cases were liver 6.5% ± 4.8%; skeleton 73.5% ± 12.4%; muscle 14.3% ± 7.6%; and all other tissues and organs 6.65% ± 4.2%. The systemic distribution of 239Pu was generally consistent with ICRP Publication 30. A significant fraction of both nuclides was retained in the muscle and other soft tissues which serve as long-term storage depots. Initial fractionation of 241Am between skeleton and liver is consistent with the 50:30 ratio proposed in ICRP Publication 48 assuming an effective clearance half-time from the liver of about 2 y. Estimates of 239Pu deposition made on the basis of urinalysis results in vivo were typically greater than the observed deposition measured in the tissues of the whole body after death.

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Radiation Protection Dosimetry
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