Toxicity of 144Ce inhaled in a relatively insoluble form by immature Beagle dogs. XII

Immature Beagle dogs (3 months old) were exposed once by inhalation to an aerosol of 144Ce incorporated in fused aluminosilicate particles. The influence of this age on the dose-response relationships is being compared to that of 13-mo-old and 8 to 10.5-yr-old dogs. This study involves 49 dogs that received graded initial lung burdens from 0.004 to 140 μCi 144Ce/kg body weight and five control dogs. To date, 19 of the 144Ce-exposed dogs and one of the controls have died. Dogs with the highest initial lung burdens of 144Ce died during the first 4 months with radiation pneumonitis, pulmonary fibrosis, and congestive heart failure. Pulmonary hemangiosarcoma was the primary finding in dogs that died at 1.5 to 2 years after exposure. Deaths beyond that time have been due primarily to extrapulmonary hemangiosarcomas. Observations are continued on the surviving 30 144Ce-exposed and four control dogs at 7.0 to 11.2 years after exposure