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Uranium concentrations of porcelain teeth were determined using the fission track method. The uranium contents of each brand range 0.33-10 ppm, 0.69-81 ppm, 2.5-14 ppm, and 11-205 ppm, respectively. In addition, corresponding dose equivalents to the oral mucosa were calculated.
Research on inhaled industrial uranium compounds has shown that solubility influences the target organ, the toxic response, and the mode of uranium excretion. Consideration of physical chemical properties indicates that the dissolution of industrial uranium oxides is expected to be strongly dependent on process history, and that dissolved uranium exists in vivo in the hexavalent state regardless of the oxidation state of the inhaled compound. The overall clearance rate of uranium compounds from the lung reflects both mechanical and dissolution processes. Mechanical clearance rates are highly variable among individual workers studied, but dissolution rates of inhaled compounds are similar among the mammalian species studied. Results from experiments in vivo and accidental worker exposures indicate that the uptake of dissolved uranium from the lung is more rapid than the dissolution rate of most industrial uranium compounds. These results indicate that the absorption rate of inhaled uranium can be approximated by the dissolution rate of most industrial compounds. Dissolution rates of UF6 and UO2(NO3)2 are more rapid than the mechanical clearance rates and dominate the overall lung clearance rate. UF4, UO3, and ammonium diuranate have intermediate dissolution rates that are similar to mechanical clearance rates and exhibit high variability among uranium specimens. U3O8 and UO2 have slow dissolution rates such that pulmonary clearance rates are dominated by mechanical processes. Industrial uranium ores, oxides, and fluorides are often variable mixtures of relatively soluble and insoluble fractions. Dissolution rates measured in vitro can be used with biokinetics models to reduce the uncertainties in dosimetry associated with inhalation exposures to mixtures.
Examination of orange-colored dinnerware samples purchased in antique stores and flea markets has revealed the occasional presence of surface uranium compounds that are readily transferred to the hands and clothing. We have further been able to produce soluble uranium compounds on the surfaces of clean dishes by exposing them to household vinegar or bleach. We estimate that handling of a contaminated dish can transfer up to 1-2 becquerels or more of uranium compounds to the hands. Uranium contamination is of concern because the element is not only an alpha emitter but also a chemical nephrotoxin. Although the amount of uranium likely to be ingested as a result of casual handling may be small, it could still exceed by several times the amount occurring in the average diet (about 40 mBq/day). Furthermore, since fresh surface compounds are readily formed, it is possible that a person who regularly handles or eats from uranium-glazed dinnerware can accidentally ingest significant amounts of uranium.
Percutaneous absorption of soluble and insoluble uranium compounds has been induced in order to obtain information on penetration routes and the tissue injury produced by uranium salts. The high electron density of uranium provided a reliable way to visualize, by electron microscopy, the precise localization of the heavy compounds within the tissues. Few minutes after topical application of uranyl nitrate, dense deposits of uranium were observed at the epidermal barrier level. A few hours later, dense deposits were seen filling the intercellular spaces and were also scattered in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Mortality and body weight measurements indicated the high toxicity of uranyl nitrate and ammonium uranyl tricarbonate; uranyl acetate and ammonium diuranate were less toxic. As no penetration was achieved after uranium dioxide, no variations were detected on these parameters.
Maximum dissolution rates of uranium into simulated lung fluid were measured at 37 degrees C to estimate clearance rates from the deep lung. The materials tested included: ore and yellowcake, an airborne sample from an industrial site, and purified samples of (NH4)2U2O7, U3O8, UO2 and UF4. A batch procedure was developed to test samples containing as little as 10 micrograms of natural uranium. Values of dissolution halftimes varied from 0.01 day to several thousand days depending on the physical and chemical form of the uranium. Dissolution occurred predominantly by formation of the #UO2(CO3)3 ]4-ion; and as a result, tetravalent uranium compounds dissolved slowly. Dissolution rates of size-separated yellowcake aerosols were found to be more closely correlated with specific surface area than with aerodynamic diameter.
Several elements (V, Mo, Fe, Mn, Cd, Zn) as metallic impurities in pure uranium compounds were quantitatively determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The effects of uranium and that of other factors on the absorption intensity of each element were studied. The analyzed samples were dissolved in 6 M nitric acid, and uranium was selectively extracted with tributylphosphate. The aqueous solution containing impurities was then evaporated and the obtained moist residues were dissolved in dilute hydrochloride acid or nitric acid. The sample solution was measured with a flame atomic absorption spectrometer under the optimum conditions, such as the maximum wavelength, suitable ratio of acetylene-air or acetylene-nitrogen oxide mixture, and some other parameters of the instrument. The analytical procedure was applied in laboratories belonging to Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission for the determination of these above-mentioned elements in synthesized uranium samples and in purified uranium oxide samples with high precision and accuracy.
The intimate correlation between the mechanisms causing magnetism and superconductivity in uranium compounds has been verified again-in novel systems.
The introduction of new ICRP recommendations, especially the new Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) in ICRP Publication 66 led us to focus on some specific parameters related to industrial uranium aerosols collected between 1990 and 1999 at French nuclear fuel fabrication facilities operated by COGEMA, FBFC, and the CEA. Among these parameters, the activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD), specific surface area (SSA), and parameters describing absorption to blood f(r), s(r) and s(s) defined in ICRP Publication 66 were identified as the most relevant influencing dose assessment. This study reviewed the data for 25 pure and impure uranium compounds. The average value of AMAD obtained was 5.7 microm (range 1.1-8.5 microm), which strongly supports the choice of 5 microm as the default value of AMAD for occupational exposures. The SSA varied between 0.4 and 18.3 m2 g(-1). For most materials, values of the absorption parameters f(r), s(r), and s(s) derived from the in vitro experiments were generally consistent with those derived from the in vivo experiments. Using average values for each pure compound allowed us to classify UO2 and U3O8 as Type S, mixed oxides, UF4, UO3 and ADU as Type M, and UO4 as Type F based on the ICRP Publication 71 criteria. Dose coefficients were also calculated for each pure compound, and average values for each type of pure compound were compared with those derived using default values. Finally, the lung retention kinetics and urinary excretion rates for inhaled U03 were compared using material-specific and default absorption parameters, in order to give a practical example of the application of this study.
In the Human Respiratory Tract Model (HRTM) described in ICRP Publication 66, time-dependent dissolution is described by three parameters: the fraction dissolved rapidly, fr, and the rapid and slow dissolution rates sr and ss. The effect of these parameters on the dose coefficient has been studied. A theoretical analysis was carried out to determine the sensitivity of the dose coefficient to variations in the values of these absorption parameters. Experimental values of the absorption parameters and the doses per unit intake (DPUI) were obtained from in vitro dissolution tests, or from in vivo experiments with rats, for five industrial uranium compounds UO2, U3O8, UO4, UF4 and a mixture of uranium oxides. These compounds were classified in terms of absorption types (F, M or S) according to ICRP. The overall result was that the factor which has the greatest influence on the dose coefficient was the slow dissolution rate ss. This was verified experimentally, with a variation of 20% to 55% for the DPUI according to the absorption type of the compound. In contrast, the rapid dissolution rate sr had little effect on the dose coefficient, excepted for Type F compounds.
The determination was studied of Al, B, Be, Cd, Ca, Co, Cu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Pb, Si, Sn, V, Cr, Ni, and Fe as trace level impurities in uranium compounds by ICP-AES after extraction of uranium with three different mixtures of di-(2-ethyl-hexyl) phosphate (D2EHP) and tri-(2-ethyl-hexyl)-phosphate (T2EHP) in solvents like toluene, carbon tetrachloride, hexane and cyclohexane. The study was carried out in presence of different concentrations of HCl and HNO(3). A single extraction with D2EHP in cyclohexane using nitric acid as matrix was sufficient to reduce the U(3)O(8) concentration from 100 g/l to 100 microg/ml. The ICP-AES instrumentation applied, allowed the determination of metal concentrations ten-times lower than those usually found in nuclear grade U(3)O(8). To check the efficiency of the extraction and the accuracy of the proposed method, Certified Reference Materials were used in the dissolution and extraction steps. The method described can be used for the determination of trace metals in nuclear grade U(3)O(8).
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The in vitro solubility of airborne uranium dusts collected at a former uranium processing facility now undergoing safe shutdown, decontamination, and dismantling was evaluated by immersing air filters from high volume samplers in simulated lung fluid and measuring the 238U in sequential dissolution fractions using specific radiochemical analysis for uranium. X rays and photons from the decay of uranium and thorium remaining on the filter after each dissolution period were also directly measured using a planar germanium detector as a means for rapidly evaluating the solubility of the uranium-bearing dusts. Results of these analyses demonstrate that two distinct types of uranium-bearing dusts were collected on the filters depending upon the location of the air samplers. The first material exhibited a dissolution half-time much less than 1 d and was most likely UO3. The dissolution rate of the second material, which was most likely U3O8, exhibited two components. Approximately one-third of this material dissolved with a half time much less than 1 d. The remaining two-thirds of the material dissolved with half times between 230 +/- 16 d and 1,350 +/- 202 d. The dissolution rates for uranium determined by radiochemical analysis and by gamma spectrometry were similar. However, gamma spectrometry analysis suggested a difference between the half times of 238U and its initial decay product 234Th, which may have important implications for in vivo monitoring of uranium.
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The analysis of seized nuclear material aims at identifying the origin of the material. Determination of the n(18O)/n(16O) ratio for the uranium oxide adds another characteristic property to the pattern which enables location of the production area of the material. A method has been developed for n(18O)/n(16O) ratio measurement which uses thermal ionization mass spectrometric (TIMS) analysis of the 238UO+ species. It has been shown that uranium oxides of different geographic origin have significantly different n(18O)/n(16O) ratios, whereas different samples of the same origin have constant oxygen isotopes ratios.
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