QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF RADIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1959

Technical Report · Mon Jan 25 04:00:00 EST 1960

OSTI ID:4142341

Passage through a bed of aluminum turnings lowered the concentration of radiophosphorus in reactor effluent water. No difference in the mortality rate was observed in experimental and control groups of rainbow trout given intramuscular injections of strontium-90--yttrium-90, but gastrointestinal damage resulted when trout were fed the same levels of strontium-90--yttrium-90. Progress is reported in studies on the transfer of strontium-85 across gill membranes in fish; the effects of deposited phosphorus-32 on survival and reproduction in fish; the biological effects of the chronic ingestion of small amounts of iodine-131 in swine; the effects of the chronic ingestion of small amounts of strontium-90 by swine on the blood picture of the offspring; the distribution of phosphorus-32 in the tissues of mice as demonstrated by counting with the whole-body mouse counter; the absorption and metabolism of plutonium in rats and swine in which a definite relationship was shown between body burden of plutonium and survival time following irradiation; the metabolism of strontium-90 and calcium-45 in rats; the pathology of gastrointestinal radiation injury and the use of polyvinylpyrrolidone labeled with iodine-131 as a diagnostic aid in the estimation of intestinal radiation injury; the evaluation of hazards from inhaled plutonium oxide; the effects of x radiation on the permeability of yeast cells; the radiobiological monitoring of the Columbia River and environs; and the uptake of strontium90 and cesium-137 by plants from contaminated soils. Phosphorescent zinc sulfide was used as a tracer in studies on the effects of meteorological conditions on the diffusion of particulate matter. A new system was developed for reading the amount of zinc sulfide. An analysis was completed on the data from 169 subjects given routine examinations in the Shielded Personnel Monitoring Station. Results for potassium and cesium were similar to those obtained with other whole-body counters. Investigations were made of the quantities of zinc-65 in human subjects, water, and foodstuffs and the route of transfer of zinc-65 to humans. It was found that zinc-65 in oysters and other sea food may be responsible for occasional high body burdens found in people. Investigations of techniques and experimental instrument development work were continued during the period. Problems involved in neutron dosimetry and field and personnel monitoring were investigated. Studies were continued on the deposition of particles on duct walls. Results indicate the importance of the velocity of air through the duct and of the particle diameter. (For preceding period see HW-62638.) (C.H.)

• Research Organization: General Electric Co. Hanford atomic Products Operation, Richland, Wash.
• DOE Contract Number: AT(45-1)-1350
• NSA Number: NSA-14-018734
• OSTI ID: 4142341
• Report Number(s): HW-63643
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ACCIDENTS-- AIR-- LUNGS-- PLUTONIUM OXIDES-- QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS-- RADIATION EFFECTS
ADHESION-- AIR-- DEPOSITS-- GAS FLOW-- PARTICLES-- PIPES-- SURFACES-- VELOCITY-- VOLUME
ADSORPTION-- ALUMINUM-- CLEANING-- CONTAMINATION-- DECONTAMINATION-- FILLERS-- PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES-- RADIOISOTOPES-- REACTORS-- WASTE SOLUTIONS
AEROSOLS-- AIR-- DIFFUSION-- LUMINESCENCE-- METEOROLOGY-- PHOSPHORS-- QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS-- QUANTITY RATIO-- TRACER TECHNIQUES-- USES-- ZINC SULFIDES
ANIMALS-- BLOOD-- BLOOD CELLS-- DIFFUSION-- DISTRIBUTION-- FETUSES- - GENETICS-- IODINE 131-- RADIATION EFFECTS-- RADIOBIOLOGY-- REPRODUCTION-- STOMACH-- STRONTIUM 90-- SWINE
BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE