Measurement of the Natural Contents of RaD (Pb210) and RaF (Po210) in Human Bone—Estimates of Whole-Body Burdens

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Abstract
The natural RaD (Pb210) concentration in man has been determined from measurement of the RaF (Po210) in bone samples obtained from surgery and autopsy of unexposed individuals, mostly from Illinois. About 63 per cent of the RaD is in the skeleton in apparent equilibrium with RaF and, within a factor of 2, it is uniformly distributed in the skeleton. The average RaD concentration found in 128 bone samples was 0.146 ± 0.020 pc/g ash as compared to an average Ra226 concentration of 0.037 ± 0.007 pc/g ash. Little correlation between the two nuclides was observed. The average RaD concentrations in the skeleton were 0.161 pc/g ash in men and 0.119 pc/g ash in women. These concentrations were generally higher in trabecular than in cortical bone, 0.184 and 0.105 pc/g ash, respectively. No particular correlation was found between the residence histories of the donors and the RaD concentrations in their skeletons. Calculations based on some of the metabolic parameters of lead and on the known concentrations of Ra226, Rn222 and RaD in the human biosphere, show food and air to be the major contributors of RaD in the subjects studied. The RaDEF decay chain is shown to contribute a radiation dose to the human skeleton more than double that from Ra226 and about equal to that from Ra226 and Ra228 combined.

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