[ RadSafe ] Uranium in hair analysis

Sun Sep 7 03:27:09 CDT 2014

Bentley KW, Wyatt JH, Wilson DJ, et al. 1982. Uranium and plutonium in hair
as an indicator of body burden in mice of different age and sex. Bull
Environ Contam Toxicol 28:691-696.

Dan ii

Dan W McCarn, Geologist
108 Sherwood Blvd
Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
+1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
+1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com

On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 2:26 AM, Dan McCarn <hotgreenchile at gmail.com> wrote:

> There was a volume on the toxicology of uranium, but it mentions "hair"
> associated with high doses in mice:
>
>
> Dan ii
>
> Dan W McCarn, Geologist
> 108 Sherwood Blvd
> Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
> +1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
> +1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
> HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 2:13 AM, Cowie, Michael I <michael.cowie at aramco.com
> > wrote:
>
>> I am aware of PhD research being done in this area at the University of
>> Reading in the UK. This is being funded by security
>> services..............the idea is to identify geographical locations people
>> hail from.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
>> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Bair, William
>> Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 8:41 PM
>> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Uranium in hair analysis
>>
>> From the Health Physics Society webpage 2008:
>>
>> Analysis of uranium in hair is not an accepted nor reliable method of
>> determining the uranium content in the body. Uranium is a heavy metal and
>> is excreted in the hair and nails, but hair analysis for uranium is subject
>> to inordinately high erroneous results from uranium contamination of the
>> hair from shampoos, soaps, hair dressings, dyes, and hair treatments of
>> various types. Moreover, since uranium is ubiquitous throughout the
>> environment, the hair sample must be carefully obtained, handled, packaged,
>> and shipped under rigid controls to ensure that it is not contaminated by
>> coming into contact with materials containing environmental uranium which
>> could be transferred to the hair sample. Erroneously high results can also
>> occur if analytical procedures are not rigidly controlled and performed
>> with scrupulous care. Controls include appropriate washing of the sample to
>> remove possible surface uranium and use of special certified ultra-pure
>> reagents. Labware must likewise be fre  e of uranium; uranium may leach
>> from glassware and contaminate the sample, leading to erroneously high
>> readings. Since the hair samples are so small, even a tiny amount of
>> uranium contamination may give a grossly exaggerated and erroneous result.
>>
>> There are few, if any, data in the peer-reviewed scientific literature
>> relating to what normal levels of uranium in hair are, or how these levels
>> relate to uranium intake, amount in the body, and the amount excreted in
>> the hair. Thus, there is a paucity of data regarding the uranium content of
>> hair and what constitutes the "normal" range. There are no generally
>> recognized established standards for uranium in hair. Background levels of
>> uranium in hair are highly variable from person to person and region to
>> region, depending in large measure on dietary factors as most of the
>> uranium in our bodies comes from the food that we eat.
>>
>> Ron Kathren, CHP
>>
>> Bill Bair, Sr. Scientist
>> Radiological Engineering
>> NSTec, LLC
>> Contractor to the US Department of Energy
>> (702)295-4463 (W)
>> (702)630-0631 (C)
>> (702)295-9335 (fax)
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
>> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Harrison - CDPHE, Tony
>> Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 10:14 AM
>> To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
>> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Uranium in hair analysis
>>
>> So, over the years we've had any number of people approach us to say that
>> they had their hair analyzed for heavy metals and the uranium levels were
>> at the 99th percentile, or some such.  For most of these people,
>> investigation of their drinking water, food (from gardens, usually) and
>> other pathways show little or no exposure to environmental or workplace
>> uranium, and I've about convinced myself that such results are mostly false
>> positives.  I've been unable to find any good research on the subject,
>> although NIOSH has somewhat validated hair analysis for zinc exposure, and
>> perhaps a few other metals.  Can any of you direct me to real research,
>> good, bad or indifferent, about uranium uptake in hair, or material in hair
>> that might mimic uranium?  I don't really know how these hair tests work,
>> but I suspect they would not be approved for bioassay or drinking water
>> samples.  Any scientific info would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> *Tony Harrison, MSPH*
>>
>> *Acting Chemistry Program Manager*
>>
>>
>> P 303-692-3046  |  F 303-691-4069
>>
>> 8100 Lowry Blvd.  Denver, CO 80230
>>
>> tony.harrison at state.co.us  | colorado.gov/cdphe
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