Estimated potassium content in Hanford workers

Potassium content in male and female workers at the US Department of Energy Hanford Site was estimated based on measurements made in 2002 of 40K activity in the body. The 40K activity in females ranged from 2.1 to 4.1 kBq with an average of 3.1 ± 0.02 kBq. The total body potassium (TBK) content in females averaged 98 ± 0.6 g. The 40K activity in males ranged from 2.8 to 6.6 kBq with an average of 4.2 ± 0.01 kBq and the average TBK was 136 ± 0.3 g. The average TBK value for males aged 20–49 y was 140 g. The average TBK values for both genders decreased with age. The average potassium concentrations calculated for the different age ranges for males were 15–25% less than the value (1.9 gK per kg) obtained using the reported ICRP reference potassium and reference weight values. Potassium concentrations were inversely correlated with body-build index, body-mass index and body weight. These correlations could possibly be utilised to help assess the risk for disease. Future work is planned to evaluate whether monitoring of potassium concentrations could be used as a tool for the detection of diabetes and hypertension.