Modifying effects of preexisting pulmonary fibrosis on biological responses of rats to inhaled 239PuO2

Journal Article · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Health Physics; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199103000-00004· OSTI ID:6005633

Lundgren, D L; Mauderly, J L; Rebar, A H; Gillett, N A; Hahn, F F ^[1]

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1. Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM (USA)

We investigated the modifying effects of preexisting, bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis on the deposition, retention, and biological effects of inhaled 239PuO2 in the rat. Among rats exposed to similar airborne concentrations of 239PuO2, initial lung burdens of 239Pu per kilogram body mass were similar whether or not pulmonary fibrosis was present. However, clearance of 239Pu from the lungs was significantly decreased in the rats with preexisting pulmonary fibrosis. The incidence of lung lesions (epithelial hyperplasia, diffuse macrophage increases and aggregation, and loose and dense connective tissue) was significantly greater among rats with preexisting pulmonary fibrosis than among the exposed controls. Rats with preexisting fibrosis had shorter life spans than 239PuO2-exposed control rats. When groups of rats with similar alpha doses to the lungs were compared, the incidences of neoplastic lesions in the lung, the times to death of rats with lung neoplasms, and the risk of lung tumors per unit of alpha dose to the lungs in rats with or without pulmonary fibrosis were similar. The results of this study suggest that humans with uncomplicated pulmonary fibrosis may not be more sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of inhaled 239PuO2 than are individuals with normal lungs, assuming that the total alpha doses to the lungs are similar.

• OSTI ID: 6005633
• Journal Information: Health Physics; (USA), Vol. 60:3; ISSN 0017-9078
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LUNGS
RADIATION DOSES
NEOPLASMS
RADIOINDUCTION
PLUTONIUM 239
RETENTION
CARCINOGENESIS
FIBROSIS
INHALATION
LIFE SPAN
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RATS
RESPONSE MODIFYING FACTORS
RISK ASSESSMENT
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BODY
DISEASES
DOSES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTAKE
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
NUCLEI
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RODENTS
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560162* - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology- Animals
Plants
Microorganisms
& Cells