Heart's Hidden Plutonium and Radium: A Close Look

Since the late 1960s, the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) has been studying how radioactive elements like uranium and plutonium move through the human body. Now, they're focusing on the heart. This research, part of the Million Person Study, aims to estimate the radiation dose in different heart regions. They're looking at workers who've been exposed to plutonium-239 and radium-226.

The study started with nine hearts donated for research. Seven came from men who worked with plutonium, while two were from a woman and a man exposed to radium. The plutonium workers had systemic deposits ranging from less than 74 Bq to 1765 Bq. The radium intakes were much higher, at 10. 1 MBq for the woman and 14. 8 kBq for the man. Scientists are using a heart model with nine substructures, like the left ventricle and right atrium. They're also collecting heart valves, fat, fluids, and even a coronary bypass graft. These samples are being analyzed for plutonium and radium levels. The results aren't out yet, but they'll help improve models used to protect radiation workers.

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