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DISTRIBUTION AND EXCRETION OF PLUTONIUM ADMINISTERED INTRAVENOUSLY TO MAN ( BACKGROUND INFORMATION) ( IN FOLDER FOR CASE NO. 40-007 ) (PARTIAL DOCUMENT)

HREX; AUTOPSIES; EXCRETION; HUMANS; PLUTONIUM; PLUTONIUM INJECTION EXPERIMENT; RADIATION DOSE DISTRIBUTION

Location - DOE/NNSA NUCLEAR TESTING ARCHIVE Address - P.O. Box 98521 City - Las Vegas State - NV Zip - 89193-8521 Phone - (702)794-5106 Fax - (702)862-4240 Email - NTA@NV.DOE.GOV

LEGAL DOCUMENT

Unknown

0022

NV0700783

1994 Aug 27

2012 May 14

TECHNICAL REPORT ENTITLED: DISTRIBUTION AND EXCRETION OF PLUTONIUM ADMINISTERED INTRAVENOUSLY TO MAN (PAGES 6-45). THE INTRODUCTION EXPLAINS HOW THE STUDY BEGAN BY HAMILTON DEMONSTRATING THAT PLUTONIUM, LIKE RADIUM, CONCENTRATED IN THE SKELETAL SYSTEM OF THE RAT. THE STUDY WAS CONTINUED BY BRUES, LISCO AND FINKEL BY FOLLOWING 1000 RATS AND 600 MICE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE AND 37 RABBITS FOR OVER 400 DAYS. THESE STUDIES EMPHASIZE THE NECESSITY OF EMPLOYING EXTREMELY RIGID CONTROL OVER ALL PLUTONIUM OPERATIONS. THE REPORT DISCUSSES THE METHODS OF CHOOSING THE SUBJECTS FOR THE EXPERIMENTS. LIFE EXPECTANCY WAS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. SUBJECTS WERE CHOSEN WHO WERE PAST 45 AND SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC ILLNESS SUCH THAT A TEN-YEAR LIFE EXPECTANCY WAS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE. AT THE TIME OF THE REPORT, FIVE OF THE CASES STUDIED HAD DIED OF THEIR DIAGNOSED ILLNESSES. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE MEDICAL HISTORIES OF THE SUBJECTS IS CONTAINED IN THE REPORT. TEN OF THE 12 CASES WERE CARED FOR IN THE SPECIAL METABOLIC WARD OF STRONG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT OF THE WARD PATIENTS WAS DISCUSSED, AS WAS THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PLUTONIUM AND THE ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES. RESULTS: THE CLINICAL OBSERVATION WAS THAT ACUTE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE SMALL DOSES OF PLUTONIUM ADMINISTERED IN THE STUDIES WERE NEITHER EXPECTED NOR OBSERVED. THE REPORT DISCUSSES DEPOSITION OF PLUTONIUM IN THE BODY, THE SKELETON, THE LIVER AND OTHER ORGANS AS WELL AS THE CONCENTRATION IN THE BLOOD. SEVERAL PAGES DISCUSS THE EXCRETION OF THE PLUTONIUM THROUGH URINE AND FECES, NOTED IN TABLES. "THE DATA ON MAN ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH RESULTS OF SIMILAR STUDIES IN RATS, MICE, R ABBITS AND DOGS, AND THIS GOOD AGREEMENT PERMITS THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE ARE NO 'MAJOR' DIFFERENCES IN THE QUANTITATIVE DISTRIBUTIONO F PLUTONIUM IN THE TISSUES AND ORGANS OF MAN AND THOSE OF COMMON LAB ANIMALS WITH PERHAPS ONE EXCEPTION - THE LIVER." THE REPORT ALSO CONCLUDES THAT "THE BIOLOGICAL HALF-TIME OF PLUTONIUM IN MAN CAN BE ESTIMATED FROM THE EXCRETION DATA PRESENTED IN THIS REPORT." REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED AT THE END OF THE REPORT. (ALSO REFERENCE DOCUMENT NUMBER 700778 FOR MORE OF THIS REPORT).