A comparison of the natural survival of beagle dogs injected intravenously with low levels of sup 239 Pu, sup 226 Ra, sup 228 Ra, sup 228 Th, or sup 90 Sr

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Radiation Research; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3577922· OSTI ID:5760303

Bruenger, F W; Miller, S C; Lloyd, R D ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City (USA)

The natural survival, relative to properly chosen controls, of 26 beagle dogs injected once intravenously with an average of 0.58 +/- 0.04 kBq {sup 239}Pu/kg, 23 dogs injected with 2.31 +/- 0.43 kBq {sup 226}Ra/kg, 13 dogs injected with 1.84 +/- 0.26 kBq {sup 228}Ra/kg, 12 dogs injected with 0.56 +/- 0.030 kBq {sup 228}Th/kg, and 12 dogs injected with 21.13 +/- 1.74 kBq {sup 90}Sr/kg was evaluated statistically. The amounts of these radionuclides are related directly to the estimated maximum permissible body burdens for humans suggested in ICRP II (1959). They constitute a level of exposure that initially was assumed to cause no deleterious effects in dogs. This study had two objectives: (1) identification of homogeneous control groups against which to evaluate the survival of the irradiated groups and (2) comparison of the survival characteristics and estimation of mortality or hazard rate ratios for control dogs vs dogs injected with the baseline dosages given above. It was shown, by goodness-of-fit plots, that the Cox proportional hazards model was an appropriate method of analysis. Therefore, covariates that possibly could influence survival were tested for significance. Only the effects of grand mal seizure, which is caused in epileptic dogs by an external stimulus and can be fatal if untreated, were significant (P less than 0.0001). Consequently, in the final model, death from grand mal seizure was considered as accidental. After censoring the dogs dying from grand mal seizure, it was established that the data for the control groups from previous and contemporary experiments could be pooled. The change in hazard rates relative to controls resulting from exposure to the baseline radionuclide level was modest, 1.6 times for {sup 239}Pu (P = 0.033), 1.0(4) for {sup 226}Ra (P = 0.86), 1.9 for {sup 228}Ra (P = 0.035), 2.5 for {sup 228}Th (P less than 0.001), and 0.52 for {sup 90}Sr (P = 0.041).

• OSTI ID: 5760303
• Journal Information: Radiation Research; (USA), Journal Name: Radiation Research; (USA) Vol. 126:3; ISSN 0033-7587; ISSN RAREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560162* -- Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology-- Animals
Plants
Microorganisms
& Cells
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BEAGLES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON 14 DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DOGS
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
EVALUATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY ION DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM 226
RADIUM 228
RADIUM ISOTOPES
SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
SURVIVAL TIME
THORIUM 228
THORIUM ISOTOPES
TOXICITY
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES