Placental transfer of americium and plutonium in mice.

Abstract

The Autopsy Tissue Program at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was begun in 1959. To date, tissues from 900 or more persons in 7 geographic regions throughout the U.S. have been collected and analyzed for plutonium content. The tissues generally consist of lung, liver, kidney, lymph node, bone, spleen, thyroid and gonadal tissues for each individual. The present objective of the program is to determine the level of plutonium in human tissues due solely to fall-out from weapons testing. The baseline thus established is to be used to evaluate future changes. Geographical comparisons are made, but require adjustment because of outliers, and time and age trends present in the data.