Research Progress Report
1
The objective of my research is to determine the plutonium distribucion
in human teeth samples and compare it with that found in animal samples.
Figure
1 and Yable
1 are pictures and captions
on alpha and beta autora-
diographs of teeth samples from beagles injected with different radionuclides.
Only if the distribution in human teeth samples correspond tothat in anima]
samples can one use Leeth to bone catios from animal experiments to obtain
bone burden from human Leeth activity cuncentration for human beings.
The experimental procedure involves fission track autoradiography on
thin sections of embedded teeth.
Fission track autoradiography has to be
used instead of alpha autoradiography because the level of activity concencentration in the teeth are
it will take several months
of such low quantities, around 200 £Gi/gm, that
to obtain an alpha autoradiograph.
In view of
the fact that Marshall Islands soil samples have shown trace quantities of
uranium and Chorium, itt was deem necessary that Pu/i§ ratios be obtained
allay doubt on the origin of the fission tracks in the autoradiographs.
to
Attempts will be made to obtain Pu/Th and Pu/Sr as well as Pu/gamma emitting
radionuclides
Briefly,
on each entire
LT have done a
tooth.
trial
run for
fission track autoradiography.
Details of the procedure on the two teeth samples used are described in
Table 2.
Table 3 lists the modifications to be tried on the next batch of
samples.
Figure
2
shows
the
flow chart
for
obtaining the different
ratios
on the whole teeth samples that will be subjected to the radiochemistry
procedures.
At the moment,
FT have done qualitative identification of
gamma emitting radionuclides and tave found for possible radionuclides
the daughter products of Th-232 and U-238.
That
is all
for now.
Pleven
|
Placence ‘I.
cc.
Dr.
Landolt )
.
Dr. Ziemer
Dr.
Dr.
Vetter
Naum
)
“Dr. Naidu
T. Greenhouse
Dr. Pratt
co-chairmen,
Cia.
Cua
Purduc
Purdue
BNL adviser
Dose Reassessment project, Marshall Islands Radiological
program
Program Director, Marshall Islands Radiological Program
Marshall Islands Medical Team Director