[en] The efficacy of bronchopulmonary lavage and chelation therapy was determined for removing ²³⁹Pu from Beagle dogs after inhalation of ²³⁹Pu aerosols of differing in vivo solubility. The four aerosols used were nebulized from a solution of ²³⁹PuCl₄ and heat treated at temperatures of 325, 600, 900, and 1150⁰C, respectively. Six dogs were exposed to each of the four aerosols and three dogs in each group were treated subsequently by lavage and intravenous diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA); three dogs served as untreated controls. Tissue accumulation of ²³⁹Pu in the untreated control dogs at sacrifice 56 days post-exposure, expressed as a percentage of the initial lung burden (ILB), was 6 percent in liver and 9 percent in skeleton for the 325⁰C aerosol group, 1 percent in liver and 2 percent in the skeleton for the 600⁰C group, and less than 0.6 percent in these tissues for the 900⁰ and 1150⁰C aerosol groups. Tissue accumulation was 1.0 percent or less of the ILB for all organs in the treated groups of dogs. The urinary excretion of ²³⁹Pu was increased in the treated dogs compared to the control dogs that inhaled the 325⁰C and 600⁰C aerosols and was low in all dogs exposed to the 900⁰ and 1150⁰C treated aerosol particles. Ten bronchopulmonary lavage procedures removed a mean of 44 percent of the ILB of ²³⁹Pu from the lungs. The aerosol temperature and resulting differences in solubility of the particles did not influence the efficacy of the lavage procedure. An in vitro solubility test predicted the relative in vivo solubility of the four aerosols. These results are discussed in relation to the choice of therapy and its timing. (U.S.)