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Tatsuzaki H, Tominaga T, Kim E, Watanabe S, Tsutsumi Y, Sagara M, Takada C, Momose T, Kurihara O, Akashi M. AN ACCIDENT OF INTERNAL CONTAMINATION WITH PLUTONIUM AND AMERICIUM AT A NUCLEAR FACILITY IN JAPAN: A PRELIMINARY REPORT AND THE POSSIBILITY OF DTPA ADMINISTRATION ADDING TO THE DIAGNOSIS. RADIATION PROTECTION DOSIMETRY 2018; 182:98-103. [PMID: 30165696 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncy145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This article introduces the first accident of internal contamination with plutonium (Pu) or americium (Am) in Japan for which treatment was carried out. An accident of internal contamination with Pu and Am occurred at a Pu research facility at Oarai-town of Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. A plastic bag containing these radionuclides ruptured when five workers were inspecting a storage container in a hood. As a consequence, these workers were internally contaminated with Pu and Am. Although contamination on the body surface was observed in all five workers, a positive nasal swab was detected in only three of them. A chelating agent, calcium diethylenetriaminepenta-acetate (CaDTPA), was administered to all of them including the two workers without a positive nasal swab. However, bioassay detected a significant amount of Pu and Am in urine after administration of DTPA in these two workers, whereas the levels of these nuclides were below minimum detectable levels in urine before the administration. Since the prevalence of adverse reactions in DTPAs is low, the present results suggest that administration of DTPA can be used for the diagnosis of internal contamination even when a nasal swab is negative or contamination around body orifices is not detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideo Tatsuzaki
- Radiation Emergency Medicine Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, Japan
| | - Takako Tominaga
- Radiation Emergency Medicine Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, Japan
| | - Eunjoo Kim
- Department of Radiation Measurement and Dose Assessment, NIRS, QST, Japan
| | - Sadahiro Watanabe
- Radiation Emergency Medicine Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yayoi Tsutsumi
- Radiation Emergency Medicine Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, Japan
| | - Masashi Sagara
- Radiation Emergency Medicine Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba-city, Chiba, Japan
| | - Chie Takada
- Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories (NCL), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), 4-33 Muramatsu, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Takumaro Momose
- Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories (NCL), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), 4-33 Muramatsu, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Osamu Kurihara
- Department of Radiation Measurement and Dose Assessment, NIRS, QST, Japan
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Harrison JD, Hodgson A, Haines JW, Stather JW. The biokinetics of plutonium-239 and americium-241 in the rat after subcutaneous deposition of contaminated particles from the former nuclear weapons site at Maralinga: implications for human exposure. Hum Exp Toxicol 1993; 12:313-21. [PMID: 8104010 DOI: 10.1177/096032719301200410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
As an input to dose assessments, measurements have been made of the clearance of Pu and Am after subcutaneous implantation in rats for six particulate materials and one dust from the Maralinga test sites. The tissue distribution of Pu and Am were measured in groups of six animals at one month and 6 months after implantation. In addition, in vitro solubility tests were carried out on eight different particulate materials. Histological examination of the subcutaneous implantation site was undertaken after one year for selected materials. Autoradiographs of tissue sections showed that particles were surrounded by fibrotic tissue with macrophage and polymorphonuclear cell infiltration, the normal tissue response to foreign materials. The clearance data have been used to make estimates of the likely range in potential radiation doses in humans. To calculate the dose from dissolved 239Pu and 241Am, four different situations have been considered. For the dust, the results suggest that dissolution essentially ceases after the removal of Pu and Am from the surfaces of dust particles. From the values obtained, the acute release of a fraction of 10(-2) of both nuclides from a dust contaminated wound was assumed. For a number of particles the results suggested continued dissolution and the clearance of 10(-3) per year of both nuclides, continuing for a number of years, has therefore been considered. For the least soluble particles, there was no clear evidence of continued clearance and the acute release of 10(-4) has therefore been taken as a lower estimate for dose calculations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Harrison
- National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, UK
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The environmental biogeochemistry of chelating agents and recommendations for the disposal of chelated radioactive wastes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1981. [DOI: 10.1016/0191-815x(81)90014-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Catsch A, Harmuth-Hoene AE. Pharmacology and therapeutic applications of agents used in heavy metal poisoning. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1976. [DOI: 10.1016/0362-5478(76)90011-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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