[en] The current methods used by the tissue analysis program at LASL for the determination of americium and plutonium in autopsy tissue are described. Problems affecting radiochemical yield are discussed, including problems associated with sample preparation, separation of plutonium from large amounts of bone ash, and reagent contamination. The average ²⁴²Pu-tracer yield for 1800 Pu determinations is 78 +- 12%. The average ²⁴³Am-tracer yield is 85 +- 7% for 40 determinations

[en] The current methods used by the tissue analysis program at LASL for the determination of americium and plutonium in autopsy tissue are described. Problems affecting radiochemical yield are discussed. Included are problems associated with sample preparation, separation of plutonium from large amounts of bone ash, and reagent contamination. The average ²⁴²Pu tracer yield for 1800 Pu determinations is 78 +- 12%. The average ²⁴²Am tracer yield is 85 +- 7% for 40 determinations

[en] Since 1959, a Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) study has analyzed over 5000 tissues from 1100 individuals of the nonoccupationally exposed general population for fallout plutonium. These data have been useful in determining the tissue distribution and the annual baseline levels of environmental plutonium in the US population. The effects of age, sex, date of death, cause of death, and geographic location of residence on the observed plutonium deposition have been evaluated. Because of the different biological turnover times of plutonium in the various organs of the body and the changing concentrations of plutonium in the atmosphere, the plutonium concentration ratios between tissues have changed as a function of time. However, our data indicate that over the past ten years, the highest concentrations in the general population are found in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes and the liver, and the lowest concentration are in the spleen, gonads, and kidney. The median body burdens of plutonium in the US population are estimated to have reached 12 pCi during the 1960's and have declined to about 2 pCi in 1977. Large errors in estimated skeletal burdens of plutonium may exist because of small specimen sample sizes and a lack of knowledge concerning the relative distribution of plutonium among the various bones of the human body

[en] Since 1959, a Los Alamos National Laboratory study has analyzed over 5000 tissues from 1100 individuals of the nonoccupationally exposed general population for fallout plutonium. These data have been useful in determining the tissue distributions and the annual baseline levels of environmental plutonium in the United States population. The effects of age, sex, date of death, cause of death and geographic location of resididence on the observed plutonium deposition have been evaluated. Because of the difference in biological turnover times of plutonium in the various organs of the body and the changing concentrations of plutonium in the atmosphere, the plutonium concentration ratios between tissues have changed as a function of time. However, our data indicate that over the past 10 years, the highest concentrations in the general population are found in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes and the liver and the lowest concentrations are in the spleen, gonads and kidney. The median body burdens of plutonium in the US population are estimated to have reached 12 pCi during the 1960's and have declined to about 2 pCi in 1977. Large errors in estimated skeletal burdens of plutonium may exist because of small specimen sample sizes and a lack of knowledge concerning the relative distribution of plutonium among the various bones of the human body

[en] The US Transuranium Registry instituted a program for whole-body donation in 1976 to improve the data on the distribution of transuranics within the entire skeleton and those tissues not available from a routine autopsy. Two whole bodies have been submitted for radiochemical analysis. The first, a ²⁴¹Am exposure, has been described in an earlier report. The primary exposure of the second donor (a chemist in the Manhattan Project) was to ²³⁹Pu in 1945. Of the total whole-body deposition of 6.52 nCi in the second case, 56% remained in the lung and tracheobronchial lymph nodes; 44% (2.86 nCi) was distributed through the systemic system with 46% of this burden in the liver and 46% in the skeleton. 5 references, 2 tables

[en] Los Alamos National Laboratory has analyzed autopsy tissue for the USTR, as a part of its study of the uptake, distribution and retention of Pu and other transuranic elements in occupationally exposed workers since 1978. In April 1979, Los Alamos received the internal organs and bone samples from the first whole-body donation to the USTR. The donor was known to have an internal deposition of ²⁴¹Am. All soft tissue, the bones from the right half of the skeleton, and the odd-numbered vertebrae were received at Los Alamos in February 1980. The bones were subdivided along anatomical areas of interest. All soft tissues and bone specimens were analyzed for their ²⁴¹Am content. A total deposition of 147.4 nCi ²⁴¹Am was measured. Approximately 18% of the ²⁴¹Am remaining in the body (disregarding that in the left hand), was found in the soft tissues, and 82% was in the bones and teeth. The soft tissues and organs containing the largest amounts of ²⁴¹Am were the combined soft tissue (striated muscle, connective tissue and skin) 8.8%; liver, 6.4% and respiratory tract, 1.5%. The remaining organs accounted for 0.9% of the systemic burden

[en] Progress is reported on the following studies: particle size distribution in the lung of an individual exposed occupationally to ²³⁹Pu; plutonium in the tissues of the general population; analysis of special samples; health of Los Alamos plutonium workers; epidemiology of plutonium workers; and analysis of the human health and ecological consequences of plutonium and other transuranics

[en] Since 1959, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) has analyzed over 5000 human tissues from 1100 individuals of the non-occupationally exposed general population for fallout plutonium. These data have been useful in determining the tissue distributions and the current baseline levels of environmental plutonium in the U.S. population. The effects of age, sex, date of death, cause of death and geographic location of residence on the observed plutonium deposition have been evaluated. Because of the difference in biological turnover times in the various organs of the body and the changing concentrations of plutonium in the atmosphere, the plutonium concentration ratios between tissues have changed as a function of time. However, our date indicate that over the past 10 years, the highest concentrations in the general population are found in the tracheobroncheal lymph nodes and the liver and the lowest concentrations are in the spleen, gonads and kidney. Total body burdens in the U.S. population are estimated to have reached 12 pCi during the 1960's and have declined to about 2 pCi in 1977. The relative distribution of plutonium in the U.S. population, determined from the above data, is 5.4 +- 2.4% residing in the lung, 28.4 +- 9.1% in the liver and 64.7 +- 9.1% in the skeleton. We are currently evaluating our data to obtain estimates of the biological turnover times of fallout plutonium in humans. Deposition of Pu in the tissues of occupationally exposed workers has been measured. The observed variation in the whole body distribution suggests that each exposure incident is unique and must be evaluated on the basis of the chemical form, solubility, particle size, mode of entry and duration of exposure. Several of the highest deposition cases are presented to illustrate the variations observed. (author)

[en] Human tissues, obtained at autopsy in several geographical locations in the United States exposed primarily to atmospheric fallout from weapons testing and those from individuals who formerly worked with plutonium, have been analyzedquantitatively for plutonium in a continuing study at the Alamos Scientific Laboratory. This article contains additional data accumulated since publication of LASL report LA-4875, 'Plutonium in Autopsy Tissue', in 1973 and includes some reanalyses of the questionable results included in that report. The primary objectives of the present study are to determine the baseline concentrations of plutonium in the general populations and to monitor for changes that may be related to growth of the nuclear industry; obtain data on the long-range time dependence of fallout plutonium incorporation into the body; determine plutonium distribution in the body from various routes of intake; and provide a means for evaluating the validity of in vivo estimates of plutonium body burdens in occupationally exposed workers. The tissues analyzed include lung, tracheobronchial lymph nodes, liver, bone, kidney, and recently, gonads, thyroid, and spleen. The median concentrations observed in the general population (dis/min per kg of tissue wet weight) are; tracheobronchial lymph node (360), 5.8; liver (701), 1.6; vertebrae (325), 0.6; rib (95); thyroid (184), 0.6; lung (705), 0.4; gonad (264), 0.3; spleen (325), 0.2; and kidney (631), 0.1. The parenthetical numbers indicate the number of samples analyzed. The results of the analyses of tissues from occupationally exposed workers are reported in a subsequent article. (author)

[en] Concentrations of sup(239,240)Pu in human autopsy tissue samples from the general population in Japan are reported for 1970. The mean plutonium concentration was determined to be 0.23 +- 0.63, 0.57 +- 0.37, and 1.10 +- 0.63 pCi/kg for the lung, liver and vertebrae samples, respectively; no appreciable concentration of plutonium was found in the kidney samples. These results are being compared with the data obtained from autopsy cases from the general population in the United States for the same year. (author)