Chronic cigarette smoke exposure increases the pulmonary retention and radiation dose of {sup 239}Pu inhaled as {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} by F344 rats
- Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Inst., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Inhalation Toxicology Lab.
As a portion of a study to examine how chronic cigarette smoke exposure might alter the risk of lung tumors from inhaled {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} in rats, the effects of smoke exposure on alpha-particle lung dosimetry over the life-span of exposed rats were determined. Male and female rats were exposed to inhaled {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} alone or in combination with cigarette smoke. Animals exposed to filtered air along served as controls for the smoke exposure. Whole-body exposure to mainstream smoke diluted to concentrations of either 100 or 250 mg total particulate matter m{sup {minus}3} began at 6 wk of age and continued for 6 h d{sup {minus}1}, 5 d wk{sup {minus}1}, for 30 mo. A single, pernasal, acute exposure to {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} was given to all rats at 12 wk of age. Exposure to cigarette smoke caused decreased body weight gains in a concentration dependent manner. Lung-to-body weight ratios were increased in smoke-exposed rats. Rats exposed to cigarette smoke before the {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} exposure deposited less {sup 239}Pu in the lung than did controls. Except for male rats exposed to LCS, exposure to smoke retarded the clearance of {sup 239}Pu from the lung compared to control rats through study termination at 870 d after {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} exposure. Radiation doses to lungs were calculated by sex and by exposure group for rats on study for at least 360 d using modeled body weight changes, lung-to-body weight ratios, and standard dosimetric calculations. For both sexes, estimated lifetime radiation doses from the time of {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} exposure to death were 3.8 Gy, 4.4 Gy, or 6.7 Gy for the control, LCS, or HCS exposure groups, respectively. Assuming an approximately linear dose-response relationship between radiation dose and lung neoplasm incidence, approximate increases of 20% or 80% in tumor incidence over controls would be expected in rats exposed to {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} and LCS or {sup 239}PuO{sub 2} and HCS, respectively.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 302296
- Journal Information:
- Health Physics, Vol. 75, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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