Retention and Distribution of 244Cm Following Inhalation of 244CmCl3 and 244CmO1.73 by Beagle Dogs

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Abstract
Twenty-four beagle dogs were exposed to aerosols of 244CmCl3 - CsCI (AMAD about 1.6 dim) or 244CmO1.73 (AMAD about 0.5 μm) and sacrificed at 0.1, 2, 8, 16, 64, 128 or 256 days post-inhalation exposure. Total body deposition was greatest for the dogs exposed to the aerosol with the larger AMAD (64 vs 35 %). Lung deposition was only slightly greater for the dogs exposed to the aerosol with the largest AMAD (33 vs 27 %). Curium-244 not deposited in the lungs was cleared rapidly via the feces. Urinary clearance of 244Cm was similar for dogs exposed to the two forms of aerosol. Likewise, the tissue retention pattern was generally similar for the two aerosols with 244Cm being translocated relatively rapidly from lung to skeleton and liver such that by 256 days post-inhalation exposure lung, liver and skeleton contained about 3 % − 30 % and − 45 %, respectively, of the initial lung burden. The similar metabolic behavior of the two forms of inhaled 244Cm with relatively rapid translocation from lung to skeleton and liver contrasts sharply with the metabolic behavior of several forms of inhaled Pu which were retained more tenaciously in lung with distinct differences in lung retention related to the form of Pu inhaled. These differences strongly indicate the need to base radiation protection guides for Cm on actual Cm metabolic data and suggest that the establishment of guides for Cm based on extrapolation from Pu metabolic data may be inappropriate.

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