Depleted and enriched uranium exposure quantified in former factory workers and local residents of NL Industries, Colonie, NY USA

Arnason, John G.; Pellegri, Christine N.; Moore, June; Lewis-Michl, Elizabeth L.; Parsons, Patrick J.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.04.006

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…We applied this approach to our representative sample of Gulf War veterans in the context of a prior studies [7,15,31] of groups of U.S. civilians exposed to DU (and EU) aerosol pollution in New York State from a uranium fabrication plant in the 1960s and 1970s [32] and in part studied with MC-ICP-MS of urine samples using the same methods as in our study [7]. These studies demonstrated that signi cant doses of DU aerosols inhaled by factory workers and residents living nearby can be detected in urine ≥ 25 years after the plant was closed [7,31], broadly consistent with predictions of the HRTM model.…”

Section: Cohort Of Gwi Cases and Controls And Battle Eld Deploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A theoretical individual excreting pure DU would be located at a point de ned by 235 U/ 238 U ≈ 0.002 and 236 U/ 238 U ≈ 0.00003, but most DUexposed workers excrete a combination of DU and NU, which displaces them downward and to the right; whereas, EU added to the mix would displace them upward and to the right. Published studies of the DU plant workers and local town residents with proven non-military DU aerosol exposure [7,31] are shown to illustrate where subjects with proven inhalation exposure to DU typically fall. All but 6 of the Gulf War veterans in our study are located in a narrow zone located exactly at 235 U/ 238 U = 0.00726, the value of natural U, and with 236 U/ 238 U ratios within the uncertainty zone around 236 U/ 238 U = 0 (Fig.…”

Section: Cohort Of Gwi Cases and Controls And Battle Eld Deploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All participants gave written informed consent according to a protocol approved by the institutional review boards of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. veterans (red symbols), overlaid by those of workers in a DU plant in the town of Colonie, New York, known to have had substantial occupational inhalation DU exposures [7,31], along with long-term residents that lived near the plant, shown in the white box. The horizontal reference line at 236U/238U = 0 emphasizes that natural U contains no 236U.…”

Section: Uk: United Kingdommentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Parrish

Haley

2020

Preprint

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Background: Of the hypothesized causes of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness afflicting approximately 25 percent of >700,000 military personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, depleted uranium (DU) and exposure to nerve agents have stimulated the most intense international concern. Past depleted uranium research on Gulf War veterans has measured urinary uranium concentration [U] and uranium isotopic ratios with low precision mass spectrometry primarily in GW veterans with retained shrapnel but has not used high precision mass spectrometry to test for an association of GWI with inhaled DU and we set out to test this potential association. Methods: We applied a standard biokinetic model to predict the urinary total [U] and uranium isotopic ratios in urine 18 years after inhalation exposure. We applied high sensitivity mass spectrometry methods capable of detecting the predicted levels in 154 individuals of a population-representative sample of U.S. veterans in whom Gulf War illness had been determined by standard case definitions and DU inhalation exposures obtained by medical history. Results: Methods used in past studies are capable of detecting only the high urinary uranium excretion levels from retained DU shrapnel but not lower levels predicted from DU inhalation. Using high precision mass spectrometry, we found no difference in the 238U/235U ratio in veterans meeting the standard case definitions of GWI versus control veterans, and no differences by levels of DU inhalation exposure. Our bivariate analysis of 236U/238U by 235U/238U showed only the signature of natural dietary uranium, excluding DU inhalation exposures above 0.4 mg, far below the disease-causing threshold. Conclusion: The findings by high precision mass spectrometry support the conclusion that even the highest levels of DU inhalation played no role in the development of Gulf War illness. Other factors including exposure to aerosolized organophosphate compounds (pesticides and sarin nerve agent) remain as the most likely cause(s) of GWI.

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Section: Cohort Of Gwi Cases and Controls And Battle Eld Deploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cohort Of Gwi Cases and Controls And Battle Eld Deploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uk: United Kingdommentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Parrish

Haley

2020

Preprint

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“…较之福岛核事故, 切尔诺贝利核事故中关于 236 U 的报道相对较少, 主要是 Boulyga 等 [10,[35][36][80][81][82][83] [10,81] [5][6][7]14] 、铀的海洋空间分布与洋流循环示踪 [12,70,[84][85] , 还可以应用于核事故和乏燃料处理设施污染示踪 [11,77,79,[86][87] 和重建核武器试验环境影响与评价 [45,71,[88][89] 等.…”

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Progress and Application on the Analysis of Anthropogenic Radionuclide²³⁶U

Shao¹,

Yang²,

Zhang³

et al. 2021

Acta Chimica Sinica

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Uranium and Thorium

Gaitens,

McDiarmid,

Squibb

et al. 2023

Patty's Toxicology

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Uranium is a radioactive metal, the 92nd element in the periodic table, and a member of the actinide series. With the advent of the nuclear age, uranium now occupies a key position in nuclear weapons and energy. Uranium in its depleted form has also been used for military armament and weaponry. Small amounts of uranium are also used in chemicals, ceramics, glass, and photography. Due to uranium's natural radioactivity, both radiological and chemical methods are available for quantitative measurements of uranium in environmental samples and human tissues. Kidney damage has been seen in humans and animals after inhaling or ingesting uranium compounds. Studies in animals have shown that inhalation exposure to insoluble uranium compounds can result in lung damage . Thorium is the 90th element in the periodic table and also a member of the actinide series. Thorium is used as a source of atomic fuel, in the production of incandescent mantles, as an alloying element with magnesium, tungsten, and nickel, and in the past was used as a diagnostic agent for systemic radiological studies. Thorium is primarily a radioactive hazard in humans; but, like uranium, also has chemical toxicity. Breathing high levels of thorium dust results in an increased risk of lung disease. Liver diseases and effects on the blood were found in people injected with thorotrast, a thorium compound injected into the body as a radiographic contrast medium between the years 1928 and 1955.

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Depleted and enriched uranium exposure quantified in former factory workers and local residents of NL Industries, Colonie, NY USA

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Progress and Application on the Analysis of Anthropogenic Radionuclide²³⁶U

Uranium and Thorium

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Depleted and enriched uranium exposure quantified in former factory workers and local residents of NL Industries, Colonie, NY USA

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Resolving Whether Inhalation of Depleted Uranium Contributed to Gulf War Illness Using High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry

Progress and Application on the Analysis of Anthropogenic Radionuclide236U

Uranium and Thorium

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Progress and Application on the Analysis of Anthropogenic Radionuclide²³⁶U