Toxicity of uranium and plutonium to the developing embryos of fish. [Cyprinus carpio, Pimephales promelas]
The radiological and chemical toxicity of plutonium and uranium to the developing embryos of fish was investigated using eggs from carp, Cyprinus carpio, and fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas. Freshly fertilized eggs were developed in solutions containing high specific activity /sup 238/Pu or /sup 232/U or low specific activity /sup 244/Pu, /sup 235/U, or /sup 238/U. Quantitative tests to determine the penetration of these elements through the chorion indicated that plutonium accumulated in the contents of carp eggs reaching a maximum concentration factor of approximately 3.0 at hatching. Autoradiographs of 16 ..mu.. egg sections showed that plutonium was uniformly distributed in the egg volume. Uranium localized in the yolk material, and the concentration factor in the yolk sac remained constant during development at approximately 3.3. Doses from /sup 238/Pu which affected hatchability of the eggs were estimated to be 1.6 x 10/sup 4/ rads and 9.7 x 10/sup 3/ rads for C. carpio and P. promelas, respectively; doses from /sup 232/U were 1.3 x 10/sup 4/ rads for C. carpio and 2.7 x 10/sup 3/ rads for P. promelas. A greater number of abnormal larvae than in control groups was produced by /sup 238/Pu doses of 4.3 x 10/sup 3/ rads to carp and 5.7 x 10/sup 2/ rads to fathead minnows; 3.2 x 10/sup 3/ rads and 2.7 x 10/sup 2/ rads were estimated from /sup 232/U. Eggs that were incubated in 20 ppM /sup 244/Pu did not hatch. This mortality may have been the result of chemical toxicity of plutonium. Concentrations of 60 ppM of /sup 235/U and /sup 238/U did not affect egg hatching. Based on these data, concentrations in fish eggs were calculated for representative concentrations of uranium and plutonium in natural waters and the corresponding dose levels are below those levels at which observable effects begin to occur.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 7344946
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-5160; TRN: 76-018862
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
EGGS
CONTAMINATION
MORTALITY
EMBRYOS
FISHES
LARVAE
PLUTONIUM 238
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
TOXICITY
PLUTONIUM 244
URANIUM 232
URANIUM 235
URANIUM 238
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
HATCHING
RADIATION DOSES
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
DOSES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
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520300 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1989)
053000 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects