Whole Body Counting of Inhaled Plutonium in Dogs

Swinth, K.L.; Griffin, B.I.; Park, J F

doi:10.1097/00004032-196711000-00006

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The initial alveolar lung deposition in each dog was estimated by external thorax gamma counting using thin NaI scintillation detectors (Swinth et al 1967) at 14 d and 30 d post-inhalation (Park et al 1992) using radiation detectors placed over the chest. The final lung burden at time of death was determined by alpha spectrometry after radiochemical separation of plutonium from lung tissues collected at autopsy.…”

Section: Lung Dosimetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

Fisher

Weller

2010

Health Physics

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From the early 1970's to the late 1980's, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted life-span studies in beagle dogs on the biological effects of inhaled plutonium ((238)PuO(2), (239)PuO(2), and Pu[NO(3)](4)) to help predict risks associated with accidental intakes in workers. Years later, the purpose of the present follow-up study was to reassess the dose-response relationship for lung cancer in the PuO(2) dogs compared to controls-with particular focus on the dose-response at relatively low lung doses. A PuO(2) aerosol (2.3 mum activity-median aerodynamic diameter, 1.9 mum geometric standard deviation) was administered to six groups of 20 young (18-mo-old) beagle dogs (10 males and 10 females) by inhalation at six different activity levels, as previously described in Laboratory reports. Control dogs were sham-exposed. In dose level 1, initial pulmonary lung depositions were 130 + or - 48 Bq (3.5 + or - 1.3 nCi), corresponding to 1 Bq g lung tissue (0.029 + or - 0.001 nCi g(-1)). Groups 2 through 6 received initial lung depositions (mean values) of 760, 2,724, 10,345, 37,900, and 200,000 Bq (22, 79, 300, 1,100, and 5,800 nCi) PuO(2), respectively. For each dog, the absorbed dose to lungs was calculated from the initial lung burden and the final lung burden at time of death and lung mass, assuming a single, long-term retention function. Insoluble plutonium oxide exhibited long retention times in the lungs. Increased dose-dependent mortality due to lung cancer (bronchiolar-alveolar carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and epidermoid carcinoma) and radiation pneumonitis (in the highest exposure group) were observed in dogs exposed to PuO(2). Calculated lung doses ranged from a few cGy (lowest exposure level) to 7,764 cGy in dogs that experienced early deaths from radiation pneumonitis. Data were regrouped by lifetime lung dose and plotted as a function of lung tumor incidence. The lung tumor incidence in controls and zero-dose exposed dogs was 18% (5/28). However, no lung tumors were observed in 16 dogs with the lowest lung doses (8 to 22 cGy, mean 14.4 + or - 7.6 cGy), and only one lung tumor was observed in the next 10 dogs with lung doses ranging from 27 to 48 cGy (mean 37.5 + or - 10.9 cGy). By least-squares analysis, a pure-quadratic function represented the overall dose-response (n = 137, r = 0.96) with no apparent dose-related threshold. Reducing this function to three linear dose-response components, we calculated risk coefficients for each. However, the incidence of lung tumors at zero dose was significantly greater than the incidence at low dose (at the p < or = 0.053 confidence level), suggesting a protective effect (radiation homeostasis) of alpha-particle radiation from PuO(2). If a threshold for lung cancer incidence exists, it will be observed in the range 15 to 40 cGy.

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Section: Lung Dosimetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

Fisher

Weller

2010

Health Physics

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“…The use of whole-body counters for the evaluation of human internal exposure had already been widely used for this particular nuclear accident [9]; whereas the use of such instruments for animals had only been reported for evaluating radioactive cesium contamination in living beef cattle [11]. Although there have been examples of whole-body counters for dogs in studies on the effects of plutonium on living bodies [12] and in nuclear medicine [13], the Goiânia accident case was the only report we could find on the evaluation of internal contamination in living dogs [14]. We believe that this study is the first report on measurements of the elimination rates for radioactive cesium in pet dogs and cats using whole-body counters designed for animals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole-Body Counter Evaluation of Internal Radioactive Cesium in Dogs and Cats Exposed to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Wada

Ito

Watanabe³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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As a result of the 2011 nuclear incident that occurred at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, a large number of abandoned dogs and cats were left within the disaster zone. A small number of these animals were rescued and cared for at shelters. Prior to the dispersal of these animals to their owners or fosterers, we evaluated the degree of internal radiocesium contamination using a specially designed whole-body counter. We conducted 863 non-invasive measurements of gamma rays due to internal radioactive cesium for 68 dogs and 120 cats at one shelter. After plotting graphs of 137Cs density we generated exponential functions of decay from seven dogs and six cats. From the regression formulae, we were able to determine the biological half-lives as 38.2 days for dogs and 30.8 days for cats. We found that in dogs there was a correlation between the biological half-life of radioactive cesium and age. Using our data, we estimated whole-body densities for each cat and dog at the time when they were rescued. We found that there were deviations in the data distributions among the different species, likely due to the timing of rescue, or living habits prior to rescue. A significant correlation was found when extracted feline reproductive organs were analyzed; the coefficients for the estimation of whole-body densities were approximately 7-fold higher than those based on the extracted feline reproductive organs. This may be due to the fact that majority of the radioactive cesium accumulates within muscular tissue with less distribution in other organs. It is possible to plan the appropriate management period in an animal shelter based on the use of the biological half-life of radioactive cesium calculated in this study. We believe that the correlations we uncovered in this work would be of great use for the management of companion animals in the event of a future nuclear accident.

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Biological Effects of Inhaled²³⁹PuO₂in Beagles

Park¹,

Watson²,

Buschbom³

et al. 2012

Radiation Research

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Seven groups of 8-24 Beagle dogs, exposed to (239)PuO(2) aerosols by inhalation [mean initial lung depositions (ILD) of 0.0, 0.14, 0.63, 3.2, 13, 44 and 210 kBq] were observed throughout their lives to determine tissues at risk and dose-effect relationships. The mean average pulmonary retention half-time of (239)Pu was 1,192 days. Most (70%) of the plutonium recovered at death in dogs surviving >10 years after exposure was found in the thoracic lymph nodes with ∼15% in lung, ∼10% in liver and ∼2% in bone. Eight dogs at the highest exposure levels died from radiation pneumonitis prior to a minimal 3-year latency period after exposure for the observation of lung tumors, with the first succumbing 337 days after exposure. Of 108 plutonium-exposed Beagles with ILD <100 kBq, 51 (47%) had lung tumors with significantly increased incidence in those dogs with total lung dose of ≥1.1 Gy at death. The primary non-neoplastic effects observed were lymphopenia, atrophy and fibrosis of the thoracic lymph nodes, radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary fibrosis, and bacterial pneumonia. Lesions of the thoracic lymph nodes were observed in 98 of 108 exposed dogs, but there were no primary neoplasms of the lymph nodes. Bacterial pneumonia was observed in 13 plutonium-exposed dogs and was the most notable non-neoplastic cause of death, with survival nearly the same as that of controls. Setting of dose limits on the basis of detrimental effects commonly considers and differentiates between stochastic and deterministic effects, raising the question of whether the non-neoplastic effects found in this study were deterministic. The International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP), National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements (NCRP), and similar organizations generally consider effects that increase in incidence and severity to meet the definition of deterministic. We demonstrated the radiation dose-related nature of effects such as pneumonitis and fibrosis graphically and lymphopenia numerically, rather than by quantified estimates. It is clear, however, that both incidence and severity increased with ILD and radiation dose and should be considered as deterministic effects.

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Whole Body Counting of Inhaled Plutonium in Dogs

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

Whole-Body Counter Evaluation of Internal Radioactive Cesium in Dogs and Cats Exposed to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Biological Effects of Inhaled²³⁹PuO₂in Beagles

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Whole Body Counting of Inhaled Plutonium in Dogs

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

CARCINOGENESIS FROM INHALED 239PuO2 IN BEAGLES: EVIDENCE FOR RADIATION HOMEOSTASIS AT LOW DOSES?

Whole-Body Counter Evaluation of Internal Radioactive Cesium in Dogs and Cats Exposed to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Biological Effects of Inhaled239PuO2in Beagles

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Biological Effects of Inhaled²³⁹PuO₂in Beagles