May 1, 2003
Journal Article

Six-Year Followup of an Acute Am-241 Inhalation Intake

Abstract

A 38 y-old Caucasian male who suffered an acute accidental inhalation intake of 241Am was monitored over 2,135 d using periodic in vivo measurements of the activity in the lungs, liver, and skeleton. Lung clearance was described by a two-compartment exponential model with residence half-times of 110 d and 10,000 d. The observed uptake of 241Am in the liver (72 Bq) and skeleton (170 Bq) was significantly greater than predicted by the ICRP models for liver (5 Bq) and skeleton (8 Bq). An 850 d half-time was observed in the liver. Estimates of skeletal activity based on head, wrist, and knee counts generally agreed within 25% over the course of the monitoring period. The half-time in the skeleton was estimated to be approximately 20,000 d.

Revised: January 2, 2009 | Published: May 1, 2003

Citation

Kathren R.L., T.P. Lynch, and R.J. Traub. 2003. Six-Year Followup of an Acute Am-241 Inhalation Intake. Health Physics 84, no. 5:576-581. PNNL-SA-36919.