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Poudel D, Dumit S, Klumpp JA. Effectiveness of Surgical Excision Following Plutonium-contaminated Wounds: Inferences from Historical Cases. HEALTH PHYSICS 2023; 124:462-474. [PMID: 36880975 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT As with any medical treatment, the decision to excise a wound contaminated with actinides is a risk-benefit analysis. The potential benefits of surgical excision following such contaminated wounds are reduction in the probability of stochastic effects, avoidance of local effects, and psychological comfort knowing that radioactive material deposited in the wound is prevented from being systemic. These benefits should be balanced against the potential risks such as pain, numbness, infection, and loss of function due to excision. To that end, the responsibility of an internal dosimetrist is to provide advice to both the patient and the treating physician about the likely benefits of excision that include, but not limited to, averted doses. This paper provides a review of the effectiveness of surgical excisions following plutonium-contaminated wounds and finds that excisions are highly effective at removing plutonium from wounds and at averting the doses they would have caused.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepesh Poudel
- Radiation Protection Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
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Griffiths NM, Devilliers K, Laroche P, Van der Meeren A. A Simple, Rapid, Comparative Evaluation of Multiple Products for Decontamination of Actinide-contaminated Rat Skin Ex Vivo. HEALTH PHYSICS 2022; 122:371-382. [PMID: 34966085 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Decontamination of skin is an important medical countermeasure in order to limit potential internal contamination by radionuclides such as actinides. Minimizing skin surface contamination will ultimately prevent internal contamination and subsequent committed effective dose as well as contamination spreading. The decontamination agents tested on a rat skin ex vivo model ranged from water to hydrogel wound dressings. A surfactant-containing cleansing gel and calixarene nanoemulsion with chelation properties demonstrated marked decontamination efficacies as compared with water or the chelator DTPA. Based on efficacy to remove different actinide physicochemical forms from skin, the results demonstrate that all products can remove the more soluble forms, but a further component of emulsifying or tensioactive action is required for less soluble forms. This indicates that for practical purposes, successful decontamination will depend on identification of the actinide element, the physicochemical form, and possibly the solvent. This study offers a simple, quick, cheap, reproducible screening method for efficacy evaluation of multiple products for removal of a variety of contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina M Griffiths
- Laboratory of RadioToxicology, CEA, Paris-Saclay University, Bruyères le Châtel, France
| | - Karine Devilliers
- Laboratory of RadioToxicology, CEA, Paris-Saclay University, Bruyères le Châtel, France
| | - Pierre Laroche
- Direction of Health, Security, Environment & Radioprotection, ORANO, Paris, France
| | - Anne Van der Meeren
- Laboratory of RadioToxicology, CEA, Paris-Saclay University, Bruyères le Châtel, France
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Lamart S, Van der Meeren A, Coudert S, Baglan N, Griffiths NM. DTPA Treatment of Wound Contamination in Rats with Americium: Evaluation of Urinary Profiles Using STATBIODIS Shows Importance of Prompt Administration. HEALTH PHYSICS 2021; 120:600-617. [PMID: 33577223 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT In the nuclear industry, wound contamination with americium is expected to increase with decommissioning and waste management. Treatment of workers with diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) requires optimization to reduce internal contamination and radiation exposure. This work aimed at evaluating and comparing different DTPA protocol efficacies after wound contamination of rats with americium. Wound contamination was simulated in rats by depositing americium nitrate in an incision in the hind limb. Different routes, times, and frequencies of DTPA administration were evaluated. Individual daily urinary americium excretion and tissue retention were analyzed using the statistical tool STATBIODIS. Urinary profiles, urinary enhancement factors, and inhibition percentages of tissue retention were calculated. A single DTPA administration the day of contamination induced a rapid increase in americium urinary excretion that decreased exponentially over 7 d, indicating that the first DTPA administration should be delivered as early as possible. DTPA treatment limited americium uptake in systemic tissues irrespective of the protocol. Liver and skeleton burdens were markedly reduced, which would drive reduction of radiation dose. Local or intravenous injections were equally effective. Inherent difficulties in wound site activity measurements did not allow identification of a significant decorporating effect at the wound site. Repeated intravenous injections of DTPA also increased americium urinary excretion, which supports the use of multiple DTPA administrations shortly after wound contamination. Results from these statistical analyses will contribute to a better understanding of americium behavior in the presence or absence of DTPA and may aid optimization of treatment for workers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anne Van der Meeren
- Laboratoire de Radio Toxicologie, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91297 Arpajon, France
| | - Sylvie Coudert
- Laboratoire de Radio Toxicologie, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91297 Arpajon, France
| | - Nicolas Baglan
- Laboratoire de Radio Toxicologie, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91297 Arpajon, France
| | - Nina M Griffiths
- Laboratoire de Radio Toxicologie, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91297 Arpajon, France
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Klumpp J, Bertelli L, Dumit S, Gadd M, Poudel D, Waters TL. Response to a Skin Puncture Contaminated with 238Pu at Los Alamos National Laboratory. HEALTH PHYSICS 2020; 119:704-714. [PMID: 33196523 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The three principal pathways for intakes of plutonium are ingestion, inhalation, and contaminated wounds. In August 2018, a glovebox worker at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) sustained a puncture from a thread of a braided steel cable contaminated with Pu. The puncture produced no pain, no blood, and little or no visible mark. As a result, the potential for a contaminated wound was not immediately recognized, and a wound count was not conducted until elevated urine bioassay results were received 12 d after the incident. This paper discusses the circumstances of the incident, along with the medical response and dose assessment, and a discussion of the risks and benefits of the medical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Klumpp
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Radiation Protection Division, MS G761, Los Alamos, NM 87545
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Poudel D, Klumpp JA, Bertelli L, Dumit S, Waters TL. Dose Assessment Following a 238Pu-contaminated Wound Case with Chelation and Excision. HEALTH PHYSICS 2020; 119:690-703. [PMID: 33196522 DOI: 10.1097/hp.0000000000001202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The urinary excretion and wound retention data collected after a Pu-contaminated wound were analyzed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to obtain the posterior distribution of the intakes and doses. An empirical approach was used to model the effects of medical treatments (chelation and excision) on the reduction of doses. It was calculated that DTPA enhanced the urinary excretion, on average, by a factor of 17. The empirical analysis also allowed calculation of the efficacies of the medical treatments-excision and chelation averted approximately 76% and 5.5%, respectively, of the doses that would have been if there were no medical treatment. All bioassay data are provided in the appendix for independent analysis and to facilitate the compartmental modeling approaches being developed by the health physics community.
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Tazrart A, Bolzinger MA, Moureau A, Molina T, Coudert S, Angulo JF, Briancon S, Griffiths NM. Penetration and decontamination of americium-241 ex vivo using fresh and frozen pig skin. Chem Biol Interact 2016; 267:40-47. [PMID: 27234047 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2016.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Skin contamination is one of the most probable risks following major nuclear or radiological incidents. However, accidents involving skin contamination with radionuclides may occur in the nuclear industry, in research laboratories and in nuclear medicine departments. This work aims to measure the penetration of the radiological contaminant Americium (241Am) in fresh and frozen skin and to evaluate the distribution of the contamination in the skin. Decontamination tests were performed using water, Fuller's earth and diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), which is the recommended treatment in case of skin contamination with actinides such as plutonium or americium. To assess these parameters, we used the Franz cell diffusion system with full-thickness skin obtained from pigs' ears, representative of human skin. Solutions of 241Am were deposited on the skin samples. The radioactivity content in each compartment and skin layers was measured after 24 h by liquid scintillation counting and alpha spectrophotometry. The Am cutaneous penetration to the receiver compartment is almost negligible in fresh and frozen skin. Multiple washings with water and DTPA recovered about 90% of the initial activity. The rest remains fixed mainly in the stratum corneum. Traces of activity were detected within the epidermis and dermis which is fixed and not accessible to the decontamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Tazrart
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France; Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France
| | - M A Bolzinger
- Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France
| | - A Moureau
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France
| | - T Molina
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France
| | - S Coudert
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France
| | - J F Angulo
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France
| | - S Briancon
- Université de Lyon, F-69008, Lyon, France; Laboratoire de Dermopharmacie et Cosmétologie, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés (LAGEP), UMR CNRS 5007, 8, Avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon Cedex 08, France
| | - N M Griffiths
- Laboratoire de RadioToxicologie, CEA/DRF/iRCM, Bruyères le Châtel, Arpajon, France.
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