Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Dosimetry of the gastrointestinal tract

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5478941

In order to obtain information on radiation doses to the intestine, doses were determined in dogs for beta-emitters that might be delivered to critical cells in the bowel in the event of an accident. Thermoluminescent dosimeters were implanted beneath the large-bowel mucosa of dogs that had ingested /sup 106/Ru-/sup 106/Rh (1.4 MeV anti E/sub ..beta../). Results were related to toxicity in the dogs and extrapolated to toxicity observed in other experiments with suckling, weanling and adult rats similarly treated. That information enabled us to calculate the depth of the critical cells in both dogs and rats. Further studies, in rats, with a weak beta-emitter, /sup 147/Pm, and an intermediate-energy beta-emitter, /sup 91/Y, supported that extrapolation. The doses delivered to target cells differed from the doses calculated at the mucosal surface of the large bowel by a factor of as much as 50, depending on the beta-emitter ingested. In the neonatal rats, death resulted from damage to cells within the mucosa of the small bowel, demonstrating that these animals were more sensitive to intestinal irradiation from /sup 106/Ru-/sup 106/Rh, on a body-weight basis, than weanlings or adult rats. Studies with isotopes, of thorium, uranium, protactinium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, curium, and einsteinium showed that substantial amounts of these alpha-emitting actinides were retained in the intestines of neonatal rats, guinea pigs, dogs, and swine after gavage. 26 refs., 7 figs.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
5478941
Report Number(s):
PNL-SA-14432; CONF-861123-10; ON: DE88005174
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Acute toxicity of beta-emitting radionuclides that may be released in a reactor accident and ingested
Journal Article · Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1977 · Radiat. Res.; (United States) · OSTI ID:7075601

Intestinal radiation injury: the lower bowel syndrome
Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1974 · Radiat. Res.; (United States) · OSTI ID:7025005

Influence of iron on plutonium absorption by the adult and neonatal rat
Journal Article · Mon Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 1986 · Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6933839