Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2016. Vol. 61. No. 2. P. 79-82

MEDICAL PRACTICE ISSUE

G.V. Zhuntova¹, T.V. Azizova¹, A.V. Ephimov¹, E.K. Vasilenko¹, N.V. Sotnik¹, N.N. Dudchenko², I.A. Vologodskaya², E.P. Phomin²

Medical Assistance After Plutonium Intake by a Worker Due to an Emergency Situation During Production Operations

1. Southern Urals Biophysics Institute of FMBA, Ozyorsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; 2. Central Medical Sanitary Department No. 71 of FMBA, Ozyorsk, Russia

ABSTRACT

We consider a case of ²³⁹Pu intake by a worker as a result of a production manufacturing unit rupture during repair operations. The worker received a contused wound of an index finger of his right hand and anterior abdominal wall contusion. The initial ²³⁹Pu burden in the areas of finger and abdominal skin injuries were 2000 and 40 kBq, respectively. The committed effective dose from internal radiation over 50 years (CED₅₀) assuming the complete transfer of the measured ²³⁹Pu burden from original site of the intake into body fluids and eventual accumulation in main organs of deposition was 54 Sv. Radionuclide-contaminated tissues of the finger and the anterior abdominal wall were excised; however it became necessary to amputate the index finger of the right hand to avoid potentially harmful contamination. A dosimetry screening revealed that injured skin was not the only route by which ²³⁹Pu entered the worker’s body, but respiratory and digestive organs were also involved. The duration of chelation therapy (5 % pentacin solution) was 4 months. The final estimate of CED₅₀ from internal radiation based on data on natural excretion of actinides was 25 ± 11 mSv. Thus, timely specialized medical assistance allowed avoiding significant transfer of ²³⁹Pu from the sites of original deposition to the worker’s body and decreasing the dose from internal alpha-radiation by a large factor.

Key words: plutonium intake, incident, pentacin

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For citation: Zhuntova GV, Azizova TV, Ephimov AV, Vasilenko EK, Sotnik NV, Dudchenko NN, Vologodskaya IA, Phomin EP. Medical Assistance after Plutonium Intake by a Worker due to an Emergency Situation during Production Operations. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2016;61(2):79-82. Russian.

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