Plutonium Retention, Excretion, and Distribution in Juvenile Beagles Soon after Injection

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Abstract
Six beagles, aged 3 mo. were injected i.v. with 0.4 .mu.Ci of 239Pu + 0.4 .mu.Ci of 237Pu as the citrate complex. Retention in liver and in nonliver tissue (mainly skeleton) was measured serially in the living dogs by a combination of total- and partial-body counting, utilizing the 60 and 100 keV photons from 237Pu. About 11% of the injected Pu was excreted in the first 21 days with about 5% in urine and 6% in feces. One animal was sacrificed at 7 days, another at 14 days and the remaining dogs at 28, 56, 89 and 119 days after injection for distribution studies. Early retention of Pu in liver was lower in juveniles (11-15%) than observed previously in adults aged 17 mo. (31-37%), while early skeletal retention was greater for juveniles (62-75%) than for adults (50-60%). Pu content of most other tissues was similar in adults and juveniles. The distribution of skeletal Pu was significantly greater for juveniles in the paws and lower leg bones by factors of 2-5, but greater for adults by about a factor of 2 in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae and in the rib cage.