Metabolism of 210Po in rats: volatile 210Po in excreta.
Polonium-210 ((210)Po) is one of the most toxic radionuclides and was used as a poison in the Alexander Litvinenko case. In this study of the metabolism of (210)Po in rats, volatile (210)Po in excreta was measured, filling a knowledge gap of the previous studies. Five rats were intravenously administrated with 2 kBq and another five with 10 kBq of (210)Po (citrate form). They were housed in a glass Metabowl system for 4 d following the administration. Volatile (210)Po from the excreta was collected in a trapping system filled with liquid scintillation cocktail and was measured by liquid scintillation counting. Results showed that the daily excretion of volatile (210)Po by the rats is in a very small percentage (0.002-0.009 %) of the administered amounts. However, if the administered amount is large, the excretion of volatile (210)Po can be significant.
Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ont. K1A 1C1, Canada. li.chunsheng@hc-sc.gc.ca
Chunsheng
C
Li
Baki
B
Sadi
Heather
H
Wyatt
Michelle
M
Bugden
Nicholas
N
Priest
Diana
D
Wilkinson
Gary H
GH
Kramer
D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D011059:Polonium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D054772:Rats, Hairless; D013542:Sweat / Q000737:chemistry*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D016482:Urinalysis; D014835:Volatilization
D011059:Polonium