A comparison of239+240Pu post-mortem measurements with estimates based on current ICRP models

Abstract

Measurements of239+240Pu in human tissues, from nuclear weapons testing, provide an invaluable source of data for verifying the uptake and distribution of radionuclides in the body. Measured concentrations of239+240Pu in lung, tracheobronchial lymph nodes, liver and skeleton have been compared with concentrations calculated using estimated plutonium intakes, the ICRP Publication 66 Respiratory Tract Model and the ICRP Publication 67 biokinetic model for plutonium. Measurement data tend to fall between the concentrations estimated on the basis of Type M and Type S absorption parameters. This indicates that the models represent the movement of plutonium through the body reasonably well.