Dose to lung from inhaled tritiated particles.
Tritiated particulate materials are of potential hazard in fission, fusion, and other tritium handling facilities. The absorbed fractions (fraction of energy emitted that is absorbed by the target region) are calculated for tritiated particles deposited in the alveolar-interstitial (AI) region of the respiratory tract. The energy absorbed by radiologically sensitive tissue irradiated by tritiated particles, in regions of the lung other than in the AI region, is negligible. The ICRP Publication 71 assumes the absorbed fraction is unity for tritium deposited in the AI region. We employed Monte Carlo methods in a model to evaluate the energy deposition in the wall of the alveolar sac from particles of tritiated beryllium, tritiated graphite, titanium tritide, tritiated iron hydroxide and zirconium tritide. For the five materials examined, the absorbed fraction in alveolar tissue ranged from 0.31 to 0.61 for particles of 1 microm physical diameter and 0.07 to 0.21 for 5 microm diameter particles. The dose to alveolar tissue, for an acute inhalation of tritiated particles by an adult male worker, was calculated based on the ICRP 66 lung model and the particle dissolution model of Mercer (1967). For particles of 5 microm activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD), the committed equivalent dose to alveolar tissue, calculated for the five materials, ranged from 32-42%, respectively, of the committed equivalent dose derived assuming the absorbed fractions were unity.
Richardson
R B
RB
Radiation Biology and Health Physics Branch, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Laboratories, ON. richardsonr@aecl.ca
Hong
A
A
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014316:Tritium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
D014316:Tritium