FUTURE PLANS
While caprine studies are definitely a logical step toward understanding the
transport of curium to milk, definitive studies must ultimately be conducted
The second curium study in
using the major milk producing animal, the cow.
One animal will receive an
this series will use two lactating dairy cows.
acute oral dose, and the second cow will be given a single curium dose via
Initial selection of an appropriate oral dose usually
intravenous injection.
Dosing considerations
represents an estimate based on several considerations.
in this case include the observed percentage transfer of intravenously administered curium-243 to goat's milk, a best estimate gut reduction factor, the
approximate detection limits for curium-243 analyses on milk, and the probable
Collection procedures will be similar to those just
bovine milk production.
Milk, urine, feces, and blood samples
described in the caprine experiment.
Both animals will
will be collected for approximately 144 hours after dosing.
then be sacrificed and tissue samples analyzed for curium content.
Metabolism studies will also be conducted this fiscal year to determine the
biological transport of neptunium in dairy animals.
These experiments are
still in the planning stage, but will’ be basically similar to those described
for curium.
Dairy goats will be used in the first project where individual
animals will receive either oral or intravenous neptunium doses.
Subsequent
neptunium experiments will then be conducted in the fall of 1976 using dairy
cows.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to express their appreciation to Stephen Lloyd, Edward
Compton, Robert Mosley, Neil Mathews, and Cletus Feldt for their contribution
to the collection and/or analysis phases of this study.
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