Радиационная гигиена (Jan 2023)
Evaluation of the applicability of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for special individual dosimetry monitoring
Abstract
In the condition of modern radiation hazardous production, higher levels of personnel internal exposure are mainly due to the intake of radionuclides in situations caused by faulty equipment or wrong actions of personnel which can or do result in the exposure that exceeds established standards. In such cases, to determine the intake and committed effective dose, daily amount of urine and/or feces is collected followed by the preparation of loads and their subsequent measurements. For a total, it takes three to eight days to obtain the result depending on the method of measurement used. In case of acute intake of plutonium, it is important to estimate the levels of the nuclide intake as soon as possible in order to decide on treatment strategy and dose reduction. To achieve the above goal, the Southern Urals Biophysics Institute has developed a technique for measuring the plutonium-239 activity in blood using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer as in the first hours and 24 hours after intake (through inhalation or damaged skin) the radionuclide concentration in blood is at its maximum level. Also a method has been developed to measure plutonium in urine aliquot using mass-spectrometry to perform special individual dosimetry monitoring that requires almost no sample preparation which allows to estimate the intake within a few hours. It is shown that, depending on the route of intake and chemical form of plutonium compounds entered, the measurement of plutonium activity in blood and urine aliquot performed by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer method allows to determine from 0.1 to 47% of intake limit within the first 24 hours after an accident. The analysis of a blood sample takes one to one-and-a-half workdays against a week required to analyze a urine sample using alpha-spectrometry. The application of the developed methodology, apart from the goal of individual dosimetry monitoring, will provide new information on the effects of chelation therapy on the plutonium behavior in the human body.
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