title: Penetration and decontamination of americium-241 ex vivo using fresh and frozen pig skin.
abstract: Skin contamination is one of the most probable risks following major nuclear or radiological incidents. However, accidents involving skin contamination with radionuclides may occur in the nuclear industry, in research laboratories and in nuclear medicine departments. This work aims to measure the penetration of the radiological contaminant Americium (241Am) in fresh and frozen skin and to evaluate the distribution of the contamination in the skin. Decontamination tests were performed using water, Fuller's earth and diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), which is the recommended treatment in case of skin contamination with actinides such as plutonium or americium. To assess these parameters, we used the Franz cell diffusion system with full-thickness skin obtained from pigs' ears, representative of human skin. Solutions of241Am were deposited on the skin samples. The radioactivity content in each compartment and skin layers was measured after 24 h by liquid scintillation counting and alpha spectrophotometry. The Am cutaneous penetration to the receiver compartment is almost negligible in fresh and frozen skin. Multiple washings with water and DTPA recovered about 90% of the initial activity. The rest remains fixed mainly in the stratum corneum. Traces of activity were detected within the epidermis and dermis which is fixed and not accessible to the decontamination.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France; Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tazrart
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bolzinger
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moureau
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coudert
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Angulo
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Briancon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France. Electronic address: nina.griffiths@cea.fr.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D017607:Aluminum Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D000576:Americium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D003666:Decontamination; D005615:Freezing; D017616:Magnesium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D017607:Aluminum Compounds; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D017640:Silicates; D004369:Pentetic Acid; C001262:Fuller's Earth; D000576:Americium
keywords: Actinides; CBRN; Decontamination; Percutaneous penetration; Pig skin; Radiological contamination