Technical Basis Document: A Statistical Basis for Interpreting Urinary Excretion of Plutonium Based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) for Selected Atoll Populations in the Marshall Islands

Bogen, K ; Hamilton, T F ; Brown, T A ; Martinelli, R E ; Marchetti, A A ; Kehl, S R ; Langston, R G

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

关键词: 61 Radiation Protection And Docimetry;    99 General And Miscellaneous//Mathematics, Computing, And Information Science;    54 Environmental Sciences;    38 Radiation Chemistry, Radiochemistry, And Nuclear Chemistry;    Eniwetok;   

DOI  :  10.2172/908128
RP-ID  :  UCRL-TR-230705
RP-ID  :  W-7405-ENG-48
RP-ID  :  908128

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

We have developed refined statistical and modeling techniques to assess low-level uptake and urinary excretion of plutonium from different population group in the northern Marshall Islands. Urinary excretion rates of plutonium from the resident population on Enewetak Atoll and from resettlement workers living on Rongelap Atoll range from <1 to 8 {micro}Bq per day and are well below action levels established under the latest Department regulation 10 CFR 835 in the United States for in vitro bioassay monitoring of {sup 239}Pu. However, our statistical analyses show that urinary excretion of plutonium-239 ({sup 239}Pu) from both cohort groups is significantly positively associated with volunteer age, especially for the resident population living on Enewetak Atoll. Urinary excretion of {sup 239}Pu from the Enewetak cohort was also found to be positively associated with estimates of cumulative exposure to worldwide fallout. Consequently, the age-related trends in urinary excretion of plutonium from Marshallese populations can be described by either a long-term component from residual systemic burdens acquired from previous exposures to worldwide fallout or a prompt (and eventual long-term) component acquired from low-level systemic intakes of plutonium associated with resettlement of the northern Marshall Islands, or some combination of both.