The Absorption of Ingested Neptunium, Plutonium and Americium in Newborn Hamsters

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Abstract
Hamsters aged 1, 4, 7, 22 and 30 days were given oral doses of either 239Pu citrate or 241Am nitrate. The values of gastrointestinal absorption obtained were 3.5, 1.4, 0.04, 0.007 and 0.003%, respectively, for Pu and 4.5, 1.7, 0.5, 0.006 and 0.02%, respectively, for Am, compared with values in adults of 0.01% for Pu and 0.5% for Am. The absorption of Np was measured in hamsters aged 2 and 4 days and values of 2.3 and 1.7%, respectively, were obtained for 239Np as the nitrate and 5.5 and 2.1%, respectively, for 239Np as the bicarbonate compared with the values in adults of 0.02% for both chemical forms. Thus, the absorption of Pu, Am and Np at 1-2 days of age was about 100 times greater than in adults. The results for Pu and Am show that absorption decreased rapidly with age over the suckling period. The values of absorption obtained at the time of weaning at 22 days were lower than in adults.