Life-span health effects of relatively soluble forms of internally deposited beta-emitting radionuclides

As part of a large research effort to study the lifetime health risks of inhaled radionuclides, Beagle dogs inhaled 90SrCI2 or 144CeCI3 or were injected intravenously with 137CsCI. Because these three compounds were soluble in body fluids, the resulting widely differing patterns of radionuclide distribution and dose reflected tissue affinities of the elements involved. Long-term health effects, predominantly cancers, were seen in the organs receiving the highest doses. Investigations are continuing on the extent to which other less irradiated organs may have also been affected. (author)