Biomedical & Environmental Sciences Divisions Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory a 410009 August 16, 1984 R Dr. Roy Thompson PNL P.0. Box 999 Richland, WA 99352 Dear Roy: I decided to send a copy of some of my scratchings concerning possible Pu body burdens (liver and bone) based on Pu concentrations we have measured in foods and soil at Bikini Island (Attachment 1). These body burdens are compared with the urine concentrations observed in the Bikinians and also compared with other observations recently reported in human subjects. The net result is that with Pu concentrations we have measured at Bikini Atol] in soil and vegetation, with current models and a range of values for parameters jin the models and with recent empirical observations of the relationships between Pu in urine and that in liver, it is difficult to develop a reasonable scenario which could account for the high (60fCi/1 per day) urine Pu concentration observed. To do so requires consumption of large quantities of soil or very high gut transfer coefficients or very different fractional depositions of Pu transferred across the gut or very different turnover times for Pu from the sites of deposition or all of the above. It appears that even with the range of fractional deposition values recently reported by Thomas, Healy, and McInroy | (i.e. bone and liver both ranging from 20-90% but together accounting for 100% of the deposition) and with the range of values usually mentioned for turnover times in liver and bone, that neither of these factors could be combined in a way to remotely account for the results. An Equal Opportunity Employer * University of California * POB 5507 + Livermore, CA 94550 * Ph 415-422-8361 * FTS 532-8361 » TWX 910-386-8329 ° DOE LLNL LVMR