Influence of 239Pu aerosol production temperature on biological responses in Chinese hamsters

Studies on the retention, distribution and effects of inhaled 239Pu particles produced at different temperatures are continuing in an effort to assess the consequences of accidental inhalation exposures under various conditions. Three groups of Chinese hamsters, 381 animals per group, were exposed to aerosols of 239Pu which had been treated in a heating column at either 50, 600 or 11500C. Retention and distribution of the plutonium through 600 days after exposure reflected the relative insolubility of the aerosols heated at 1150 and 6000C, and the relative solubility of the aerosol heated at 500C. Animals exposed to either of the insoluble aerosols had 80 to 90 percent of the sacrifice body burden in the lung at 400 days after exposure whereas animals exposed to the aerosol heated at 500C had only 10 percent of the sacrifice body burden in the lung at 400 days. Translocation was mainly to the liver. To date, survival of the animals seemed to depend primarily on activity level, with production temperature exerting an influence only at the highest activities