Estimating the lung burden from exposure to aerosols of depleted uranium.
Following exposure to aerosols of depleted uranium (DU), biological samples show the presence of a synthetic mixture of natural uranium and DU. By partitioning the uranium in the 24-h urine sample along the isotopic fractions of natural uranium and DU, one can study the kinetics of these subpopulations independently. A linear model is developed to estimate the lung burden of DU from measurements of DU in 24-h urine samples, years after inhalational exposure to aerosols of DU. This model takes into account the intracellular dissolution of the retained particles and the precipitation of a significant fraction of the dissolved DU as insoluble uranyl phosphates.
Uranium Medical Research Center, Shawville, Quebec, Canada. mjvv@magma.ca
Marcelo
M
Valdés
D000336:Aerosols; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D001822:Body Burden; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D014501:Uranium / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*
D000336:Aerosols; D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium