Retention half times in the skeleton of plutonium and 90Sr from above-ground nuclear tests: a retrospective study of the Swiss population.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_7BC58F6B1F4B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Retention half times in the skeleton of plutonium and 90Sr from above-ground nuclear tests: a retrospective study of the Swiss population.
Journal
Chemosphere
Author(s)
Froidevaux P., Bochud F., Haldimann M.
ISSN
1879-1298[electronic], 0045-6535[linking]
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2010
Volume
80
Number
5
Pages
519-524
Language
english
Abstract
Plutonium and (90)Sr are considered to be among the most radiotoxic nuclides produced by the nuclear fission process. In spite of numerous studies on mammals and humans there is still no general agreement on the retention half time of both radionuclides in the skeleton in the general population. Here we determined plutonium and (90)Sr in human vertebrae in individuals deceased between 1960 and 2004 in Switzerland. Plutonium was measured by sensitive SF-ICP-MS techniques and (90)Sr by radiometric methods. We compared our results to the ones obtained for other environmental compartments to reveal the retention half time of NBT fallout (239)Pu and (90)Sr in trabecular bones of the Swiss population. Results show that plutonium has a retention half time of 40+/-14 years. In contrast (90)Sr has a shorter retention half time of 13.5+/-1.0 years. Moreover (90)Sr retention half time in vertebrae is shown to be linked to the retention half time in food and other environmental compartments. These findings demonstrate that the renewal of the vertebrae through calcium homeostatic control is faster for (90)Sr excretion than for plutonium excretion. The precise determination of the retention half time of plutonium in the skeleton will improve the biokinetic model of plutonium metabolism in humans.
Keywords
Adult, Bone and Bones/chemistry, Bone and Bones/metabolism, Female, Half-Life, Humans, Male, Nuclear Weapons, Plutonium/chemistry, Plutonium/metabolism, Radiation Monitoring, Radioactive Pollutants/chemistry, Radioactive Pollutants/metabolism, Retrospective Studies, Strontium Radioisotopes/chemistry, Strontium Radioisotopes/metabolism, Switzerland, Young Adult
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
01/10/2010 19:19
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:37
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