Distribution, Excretion and Effects of Plutonium as a Bone-Seeker

Concentration and Distribution of Uranium in Mytilus edolis and Associated Materials

“…Data are also presented for the concentration and distribution of uranium and other elements in various biota and local sediments associated with the mussels' habitat. In most mussels the gross distribution pattern of uranium may be described in terms of 'surface seeking' properties (Vaughan, 1973) together with an affinity for some types of proteins, cell surfaces and sites of tissue calcification. Active uptake of uranium by the mussel is mainly through diet but because of the conservative nature of uranium in seawater, entry into the body cavity across the gills must also occur; this organ also contains occluded particulate debris associated with the ctenidia.…”

Microdistribution of239Pu in the Rat Skeleton

“…In the skeleton of young female (male) rats about half of the maximum amount of plutonium has been deposited after 6 h (24 h), the maximum being reached three days later (Gemenetzis 1976) . Plutonium reaching the bones initially deposits on all internal and external bone surfaces and is bound to the glycoproteins of the organic matrix (Vaughan 1973) . This binding is so strong that the initial deposition pattern, called the hot line, can only alter under the influence of bone remodelling or modelling processes and not by diffusion exchange processes .…”

Actinide-specific sequestering agents and decontamination applications

“…The largest decrease of plutonium was found in the soft tissues, but skeletal removal was more difficult, and the moderate amounts removed may not significantly reduce the number of bone tumors formed (59,100,101). Further details on the use of DTPA in removing internally deposited plutonium may be gained from other reviews (6,13,102,103).…”

“…Because of its low toxicity in rodents and its rapid elimination from the body, zirconium was the most promising of the metals tested (64). The details of the biological testing have been summarized in previous reviews (13,65,66). Typically,…”

“…The - 4 6 concentration of plutonium in plants is 10 to 10-of the surrounding soil ( 23). Further, only 0.03% of ingested Pu(IV) citrate is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of mammals, while much smaller amounts of less stable chelates, simple salts, or insoluble compounds of plutonium are absorbed (10,11,13,24). Similarly, insignificant amounts of plutonium.…”