Comparison Between the Biological Half-life of a Tritiated Luminous Compound With That of Tritiated Water in Rats and Cats

Abstract

A single oral dose of a tritiated luminous compound in common usage by the luminous dial painting industry was given to rats and cats, and the tritium concentration followed in the urine, feces and various body tissues. A major fraction of the absorbed tritium was eliminated with a biological half-life essentially the same as that of tritiated water.

Using a Tritiated Compound to Elucidate Its Preclinical Metabolic and Excretory Pathways in Vivo: Exploring Tritium Exchange Risk

“…3 H]1a and [ 3 H]1b were 133 and 31 h, respectively, with the former being consistent with that of 85 to 98 h, reported previously for HTO in rats (Richmond et al, 1962;Foy, 1964;Wheeler et al, 1972 , total radioactivity plasma concentration-versus-time curves are plotted in Fig. 2, and PK parameters are listed in Table 2.…”

“…These studies generated contrasting results, with rat and dog total 3 H half-lives of 133 and 5 h, respectively. Although the extensive half-life in rats could hypothetically be attributed to long-lived circulatory metabolites, it seemed more reasonably explained by HTO, which has a reported half-life of 85 to 98 h in rats (Richmond et al, 1962;Foy, 1964;Wheeler et al, 1972), formed by 3 H loss from [ 3 H]1a; this was confirmed by urinary HTO and low overall mass recovery. The short total radioactivity half-life and high mass recovery in dogs, both indicative of no HTO generation as confirmed by lyophilized urine, further suggested that 3 H loss in rats was due to a species-specific difference in the metabolism of [ 3 H]1a.…”

Découverte d'une fausse contamination professionnelle par le tritium

“…Il est connu que les peintures radioluminescentes utilisées dans l'horlogerie sont préparées depuis de nombreuses années (après l'abandon du radium) à partir du tritium qui produit une photoluminescence au contact d'un sulfure de zinc [2,8,9,[11][12]. Plusieurs auteurs décrivent la possibilité d'excrétion urinaire de tritium chez les travailleurs exposés (en particulier dans l'horlogerie) supplémentaire.…”