Estimating the Absorption of Soil-Derived Uranium in Humans

Träber, Stephan C.; Höllriegl, Vera; Li, W. B.; Czeslik, Uta; Rühm, W.; Oeh, Uwe; Michalke, Bernhard

doi:10.1021/es504171r

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In both studies the percentage of 238 U extracted by the STOM þ INT solution was greater than the STOM solution. Tr€ aber et al (2014Tr€ aber et al ( , 2015 also extracted U-containing soils using the DIN 19738 method, although the STOM values were not given. A common feature of these results, where the STOM extraction of U is lower than the STOM þ INT, is that they were obtained using digests with relatively low concentrations of phosphate.…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

Bioaccessibility of U, Th and Pb in solid wastes and soils from an abandoned uranium mine

Foulkes

Millward

Henderson

et al. 2017

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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Bioaccessible U, Th, Pb and the U decay productsPb and Pb have been determined, using a modified Unified BARGE Method (UBM), in waste solids and soils from an abandoned uranium mine in South West England, UK. Maximum aqua regia extractable concentrations for U, Th and Pb were 16,200, 3.8 and 4750 μg g, respectively. U had highest activity concentrations near the mine shaft, where the decay productsPb and Pb had values of 235 and 180 Bq g, respectively. UBM extractions gave mean gastro-intestinal bioaccessibility factors (BAFs) for U and Pb in the waste solids of 0.05 and 0.03, respectively, whereas those for the soils were significantly higher at 0.24 and 0.17. The mean BAFs for the transient radionuclides, Pb andPb, were similar to those for stable Pb implying that the stable and radioactive Pb isotopes were attached to similar sites on the particles. The doses arising from the ingestion of particulate Pb due to soil pica behaviour were in the range 0.2-65 and< 0.1-6.2 μSv day for a 1-year old child or an adult (>17 years), respectively. The results suggest that the health risk posed by abandoned uranium mines, with waste rock and tailings, throughout the world should take account of the dose due to both bioaccessible radionuclides, as well as their stable counterparts.

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Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

Bioaccessibility of U, Th and Pb in solid wastes and soils from an abandoned uranium mine

Foulkes

Millward

Henderson

et al. 2017

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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“…The effect of the separation method of dissolved from undissolved fraction can also influence the dissolved fraction. One study indicates that the choice between centrifugation, centrifugation and microfiltration, or only microfiltration is not significant ( Träber et al 2014 ). Others suggest that centrifugation results in somewhat higher dissolved fractions than filtrations with 0.45 μm ( Van de Wiele et al 2007 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dissolution experiment can provide an estimate of the fraction dissolved in the GI tract, while data from human studies provide information on absorption of soluble uranium in the GI tract. Träber et al (2014) presented a method to acquire an in vitro model specific factor that relates the dissolved fraction F D and f A . The relationship is given in eqn (1), where F D_absorbed , is the fraction of dissolved material absorbed to blood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particle Size Dependent Dissolution of Uranium Aerosols in Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids

Yusuf

Hansson²,

Eriksson

et al. 2023

Health Physics

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Uranium aerosol exposure can be a health risk factor for workers in the nuclear fuel industry. Good knowledge about aerosol dissolution and absorption characteristics in the gastrointestinal tract is imperative for solid dose assessments and risk management. In this study, an in vitro dissolution model of the GI tract was used to experimentally study solubility of size-fractionated aerosols. The aerosols were collected from four major workshops in a nuclear fuel fabrication plant where uranium compounds such as uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ), uranium dioxide (UO 2 ), ammonium uranyl carbonate, AUC [UO 2 CO 3 ·2(NH 4 ) 2 CO 3 ] and triuranium octoxide (U 3 O 8 ) are present. The alimentary tract transfer factor, f A , was estimated for the aerosols sampled in the study. The transfer factor was derived from the dissolution in the small intestine in combination with data on absorption of soluble uranium. Results from the conversion workshop indicated a f A in line with what is recommended (0.004) by the ICRP for inhalation exposure to Type M materials. Obtained transfer factors, f A , for the powder preparation and pelletizing workshops where UO 2 and U 3 O 8 are handled are lower for inhalation and much lower for ingestion than those recommended by the ICRP for Type M/S materials f A = 0.00029 and 0.00016 vs. 0.0006 and 0.002, respectively. The results for ingestion and inhalation f A indicate that ICRP’s conservative recommendation of f A for inhalation exposure is applicable to both ingestion and inhalation of insoluble material in this study. The dissolution- and subsequent absorption-dependence on particle size showed correlation only for one of the workshops (pelletizing). The absence of correlation at the other workshops may be an effect of multiple chemical compounds with different size distribution and/or the reported presence of agglomerated particles at higher cut points having more impact on the dissolution than particle size. The impact on dose coefficients [committed effective dose (CED) per Bq] of using experimental f A vs. using default f A recommended by the ICRP for the uranium compounds of interest for inhalation exposure was not significant for any of the workshops. However, a significant impact on CED for ingestion exposure was observed for all workshops when comparing with CED estimated for insoluble material using ICRP default f A . This indicates that the use of experimentally derived site-specific f A can improve dose assessments. It is essential to acquire site-specific ...

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“…Contrarily, 238 U solubility is elevated by lowering the pH value. This affects the dissolution of 238 U with acid in chemical reactions [31,32]. 238 U concentrations rely on the intake amount of the soil samples, volume of gastric fluid, and volume of intestinal fluid [33].…”

Section: Gastric Fluid Gastrointestinal Fluidmentioning

confidence: 99%

BIOACCESSIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF 232Th AND 238U FROM LANTHANIDE CONCENTRATE AND WATER LEACH PURIFICATION RESIDUE IN MALAYSIA

Rashid

Wooyong

Perama

et al. 2018

MJAS

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The aim of this case study was to estimate the bioaccessibility of 232 Th and 238 U from lanthanide concentrate (LC) and water leach purification (WLP) residue of Lynas Advanced Materials Plant by analysing the solubility of these radionuclides in synthetic gastrointestinal fluids. A DIN in vitro bioaccessibility method was applied to determine the targeted radionuclides from the LC and WLP residue, which were further evaluated through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 232 Th and 238 U concentrations in the gastrointestinal fluids portrayed the maximum amount of contaminants that were potentially available for intestinal absorption and transfer into the blood. The maximum concentrations of 232 Th in the LC and WLP residue were 0.1410 ± 0.0331 mg kg -1 and 0.1621 ± 0.1190 mg kg -1 , respectively. As for 238 U in the LC and WLP residue during the intestinal phase for high-risk cases, the maximum concentrations were 0.0558 ± 0.0164 mg kg -1 and 0.0480 ± 0.0213 mg kg -1 , respectively. The maximum bioaccessibility of 232 Th and 238 U was 0.14 % and 0.93 %, respectively. Based on the assessment, the committed equivalent dose and committed effective dose of 232 Th and 238 U were below the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation reference values. Overall, the DIN in vitro bioaccessibility method is feasible to estimate the solubility of 232 Th and 238 U from LC and WLP residue, and is also useful for monitoring and risk assessment purposes for environmental, health, and contaminated samples.

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Estimating the Absorption of Soil-Derived Uranium in Humans

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

Bioaccessibility of U, Th and Pb in solid wastes and soils from an abandoned uranium mine

Bioaccessibility of U, Th and Pb in solid wastes and soils from an abandoned uranium mine

Particle Size Dependent Dissolution of Uranium Aerosols in Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids

BIOACCESSIBILITY ASSESSMENT OF 232Th AND 238U FROM LANTHANIDE CONCENTRATE AND WATER LEACH PURIFICATION RESIDUE IN MALAYSIA

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