Summary of dosimetry, pathology, and dose response for bone sarcomas in beagles injected with 226Ra

One hundred and sixty dogs given single intravenous injections of 226Ra citrate at age 17 +/- 2 months (116) or a non-radioactive solution (44 controls) were part of a 30 year long experiment to determine the relative radiotoxicity of injected 226Ra and 239Pu. The authors report a preliminary summary of the results of the 226Ra study. Skeletal development of the beagles used in this study is analogous to a young adult human, simulating that of a young adult radium dial painter or occupationally exposed person. Injected dosage of 226Ra, average skeletal dose, and number of dogs and dogs developing bone sarcomas in each group are presented. The lowest nominal injected activity was 0.007 μCi/kg. Each of the 8 dosage levels contained about 12 dogs, except for 23 dogs at 0.06 μCi/kg and 25 dogs at 0.02 μCi/kg