172
THE SHORTER-TERM BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS OF A FALLOUT
FIELD
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN I'5! ann sr? activity
(CORRECTED DATA FOR POOLED SPECIMENS
BY WEEKS AND STATIONS)
METABOLIC STUDIES WITH STRONTIUM-90 IN THE
RHESUS MONKEY
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(Preliminary Report)
(6,000
ppm 1'>! CORRECTED TO FISSION TIME
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14,000
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By P, W. Durstn, M. W. Parrort, M. TH. Winurams, M. E. Jounston, C. W. Asuna,
and J. G. Haminron, with the technical assistance of N. Jevne and 8. A. Cote
University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, California.
ABSTRACT
12,000
Adult rhesus monkeys eliminated 56 percent
of administered Sr”, compared with 28 percent
of Ca®, in the urine during thefirst 10 days after
10,000
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8000-
& 10, 13,148
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tal distribution of Sr® was studied. Successive
amputation of caudal vertebrae is therefore
recommended as the simplest and safest method
of acquiring information on long-term skeletal
retention of Sr® in valuable animals with long
Average half times for skeletal retention of
Sr” were calculated for an adult male, 470 days,
and for an adult female that had experienced 3
closely spaced pregnancies, 315 days.
Half times for skeletal retention of Sr® of
155 and 195 days were calculated for the first
10 months of life of two offspring born to an
injected mother.
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4
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One infant monkeyretained an average of 18
pereentof Sr® administered daily by mouth for
13 weeks, whereas 6 adolescents retained on the
average less than 5 percent of a daily dose dur-
ebieebereg
fa
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36
DPM $r90
Fraure 7.--Relationship between I 131 and Sr 90 activity.
'
an injected female taken shortly after the birth
of her secondoffspring (402 days postinjection)
was 3 to 4 times the Srlevel of a plasma sample
taken a few days later.
skeleton as a whole in two animals whose skele-
life spans.
/
O 13,14 M
013,14X 7
intravenous administration.
The Sr™ concentration in the vertebrae was
found to be reasonably representative of the
to about 8 percent of the Sr” content of the
mother’s skeleton at term.
The Sr® concentration in milk samples fram
ing the same period of time.
A measurable amount of Sr™, 23.5 dpm/g
bone ash, was found in the skeleton of an uninjected control animal.
Placental transfer from a mother with a
fairly well-fixed skeletal burdenof Sr” amounted
INTRODUCTION
It is generally agreed that Sr™ is potentially
the most dangerous of thefission products. It
is produced inrelatively high yield in the fission
process, and has a long physical half-life
Manyof its compounds are quite soluble and
are readily absorbed by both plants and
animals, Once absorbed by an animal, Sr® is
retained for long periods in the skeleton[1].
Dudley [2] has compiled a survey of the
literature on Sr® in mammals to mid-1954;
this survey is in the formof tables setting forth
the animals employed and their age, the dose
administered, the length of the sudy, and the
effects observed. Numerous investigations
have been madeor are under way of the absorption, distribution, and elimination of strontium
isotopes under varying conditions in laboratory
rodents, [1-7] dogs, [8] and domestic livestock
19, 10}.
The most. important animal from the standpoint of human society is necessarily man
himself. Data currently being applied to
173