Model and Practical Information Concerning the Radiotoxicological Assessment of a Wound Contaminated by Plutonium

From plutonium deposited in a wound a fraction is rapidly transferred to blood and the rest remains in situ. A reasonable assessment of the contamination can be made from measurements usually performed locally and on the urine. The benefit of excision can be evaluated by the drop of the local activity. Initial urinary excretion, over about the first ten days following the incident, is essentially attributable to the plutonium having passed rapidly into the blood. Excretion over medium and long periods is more difficult to interpret. The observed cases have shown that only the activity which has passed through vascular injuries at the time of the incident or in a few minutes thereafter participates in the systemic burden. The local activity, notably the residual activity which persists after excision, seems above all to be inert, not at all or very little metabolisable. This suggests that contrary to DTPA administration which should be very rapid, surgical action can be calmly prepared.