Progress report for studies of health of plutonium workers

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:5333287

Since the publication of a twenty-seven year study of selected plutonium Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) workers in November 1973, the program involved with long-term toxicity in man has expanded. Re-examination of the 24 plutonium workers heavily exposed during World War II showed one of the 26 workers of this original group followed medically died of a coronary in 1952 and another died after being struck by an automobile in 1974. Of the surviving 24 workers, 22 returned to LASL during the period October 1976 to June 1977, for a complete medical study comparable to that conducted on 21 of the group in 1971 to 1972. Two radiographic bone lesions of interest (but of unknown significance) are asymptomatic Paget's disease (osteitis deformans) in a 63-year old man associated with high alkaline blood phosphatase and a benign appearing tumor in the pelvis which developed in adult bone. Review of old films showed that the Paget's lesions had progressed slowly since 1965 and that the other lesion was not present in 1960 films. Additional films are being taken. The results of assay of blood and urine for plutonium since 1971 and the plutonium content of tissues taken at autopsy of the worker who was killed are tabulated. Adding the plutonium contents of the organs that store the element gave a total body burden of 22.7 nCi, which compares favorably with an estimated burden of 18 nCi based on urine assay values in 1976.

• Research Organization: Rochester Univ., N.Y. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5333287
• Report Number(s): TID-27934
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560171* -- Radiation Effects-- Nuclide Kinetics & Toxicology-- Man-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACTINIDES
AGE DEPENDENCE
AUTOPSY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL WASTES
BLOOD
BODY
BODY BURDEN
BODY FLUIDS
CHRONIC IRRADIATION
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EPIDEMIOLOGY
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
IRRADIATION
LASL
LOW DOSE IRRADIATION
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEOPLASMS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PERSONNEL
PLUTONIUM
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
SAMPLING
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
TISSUES
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
URINE
US AEC
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTES