Thorium-232 in human tissues: Metabolic parameters and radiation doses

Abstract

Higher than environmental levels of 232 Th have been found in autopsy samples of lungs and other organs from four former employees of a Th refinery. Working periods of the subjects ranged from 3 to 24 years, and times from end of work to death ranged from 6 to 31 years. Concentrations of 232 Th in these samples and in tissues from two cases of non-occupational exposure were examined for compatibility with dosimetric models in Publication 30 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP 1979a). The concentrations of 232 Th in the lungs of the Th workers relative to the concentrations in bone or liver were much higher than calculated from the model for class Y aerosols of Th and the exposure histories of the subjects, and concentrations in the pulmonary lymph nodes were much lower than calculated for three of the Th workers and both non-occupational cases. Least-squares fits to the measured concentrations showed that the biological half-times of Th in liver, spleen, and kidneys are similar to the half-time in bone instead of the factor of 10 less suggested in Publication 30, and the fractions translocated from body fluids were found to be about 0.03, 0.02, and 0.005, respectively, when the fraction to bone was held at the suggested value of 0.7. Fitted values of the respiratory parameters differed significantly between cases and the differences were ascribable to aerosol differences. Average inhalation rates calculated for individual Th workers ranged from 50