Plutonium-its Behavior in Natural Water Systems and Assimilation by Man

Abstract

There are a number of factors which must be considered in establishing whether or not the inadvertent intrusion of a sizable amount of plutonium-bearing material into a natural water system may have a significant impact on the health of those individuals who use that system as a drinking water resource. These factors include the chemical form(s) and solubility of plutonium in natural waters, its behavior in relation to natural processes (geochemical and biological), its fate in water treatment systems, and its uptake by man from drinking water. From the results obtained in our investigations of the behavior in natural water systems, it appears that (1) the chemical forms of plutonium dissolved in natural waters are Pu(IV) and Pu(V), (2) the soluble plutonium in many waters is bound to the organic constituents which probably enhances plutonium solubility, (3) the natural process responsible for the removal of plutonium from water is adsorption onto sediments, and (4) in water treatment systems, soluble plutonium is oxidized to the VI state and this form is not removed. From our investigations of gastrointestinal absorption, it appears that the value for f1, the fraction transferred from the gut to blood, is surely greater than 1 X 10(-3) and may be as high as 2 X 10(-1). Consideration of these and other factors indicates that, in the event of an accident, the concentration of plutonium could, in certain small natural water systems, approach and perhaps even exceed, the MPC for plutonium. However, the impact on the health of the affected population would not be inordinately high.

Gastrointestinal Absorption of Plutonium by the Marshall Islanders

“…On the other hand, Sullivan (1980a, b) indicated that smaller particle sizes give largerf, values due to easier digestion in the GI tract. Larsen et al (1977Larsen et al ( , 1983 suggested a f i value for plutonium between and 2X 10-1 based on the chemistry of plutonium in chlorinated drinking water. However, animal studies have not produced convincing evidence that either the oxidation state of the ingested compound or individual biology influence the f l value (NEA 1988).…”