Acute Lesions Induced by α-irradiation of Intestine after Plutonium Gavage of Neonatal Rats

Abstract

After gavage of two-day-old rats with 238Pu(IV)-citrate at 17.4 MBq/kg (122 kBq per animal), 45 per cent of the animals died during the second week following ingestion. Histological analysis showed that death was due to acute intestinal lesions caused by alpha-radiation that resulted in denudation of the ileum. Under these experimental conditions, the total alpha-dose delivered to the ileal wall and its contents was estimated at 150 Gy. No acute lesions were observed after gavage of two-day-old rats with Pu-citrate at 5.3 MBq/kg.

The Gastrointestinal Absorption and Retention of Niobium in Adult and Newborn Guinea Pigs

“…Mraz and Eisele (1977a) observed high levels of intestinal retention of niobium in suckling rats, exceeding the measured levels of absorption . This is consistent with observations of high levels of retention of plutonium and other elements in rats, particularly in the small intestine (Sullivan et al 1987, Fritsch et al . 1987, Naylor et al .…”

Ecotoxicity literature review of selected Hanford Site contaminants

“…Exposure to 3.3 mCi/kg resulted in intestinal hemorrhaging and disappearanceof the crypts(Fritsch et al 1987). However, asFritsch et al (1987) points out, immature development of the crypts of the small intestine is characteristic of neonatal rats, suggesting that young rats may be more sensitive to the radiological effects of plutonium than adult rats or other neonatal mammals.…”