Re: uranium in urine analysis

[Dov Brickner <brickner@IN.ZAHAV.NET.IL>]

Dear Chris and radsafers





At 08:29 27/03/01 +0200, Christoph Hofmeyr wrote:

>

>Radsafers,

>I can understand Franz's concern.  You are talking uranium intake in water

>of up to 9 mg/l, and there is bound to be further concentration in the body

>fluids. 



In fact uranuim absorbed to the bloodstream will  move to the extracelluar

space. Then about 50-60% are cleared rather rapidly by the urine , 15-20%

are retained in the kidneys this fraction may lead to kiney damage), and

about  20% are retained in the bones. (This is the ICRP-30 uranium model,

newer models do not differ significantly for this disscussion). I don't see

where the U will be "further concentrated.



 If I am not mistaken,  3 mg/l was regarded as a maximum

>sustainable uranium excretion rate in urine, whereas 10 mg/l would lead to

>rapid kidney damage and failure.



Butterworth ("Human data on uranium exposure" in symposium on occupational

health expirience and practice in the uranium industry held in New York Oct

15-17 1958 - HASL-58 pp41-46, 1958) described a man who drank about 1 gr of

uranil nitrate .  Urine U concentrations were up to 10 mg/l. Beside

transient proteinuria (for about 24 hours), no damage to the kidney was

observed.



  The lethal body burden of dissolved

>uranium is supposedly 1 mg/kg of body mass (70 - 100 mg total for an

>adult). 



More accurately this is the assumed human lethal dose  of soluble uranium

(uranyl nitrate , uranyl fluoride etc.) injected intravenously. The ICRP-30

uranium model assume a 0.05 factor for the absorbtion form the GI tract for

soluble uranium.

Uranium in well-water is in insoluble oxide form, the absorbtion factor is

0.002. Therefore from every liter of water less than 20 micrograms are

abosrbed.



>  That 'water' is poison.



Not in this concentration of U. I would not let my kids drink them, but in

order to reach the lethal dose , a man must drink 3500 liters (20

microgram/liter x 50 x 70 to get 70 mg for an adult..) , as fast as

possible...





>Chris Hofmeyr

>chofmeyr@nnr.co.za

>







Dov (Dubi) Brickner    MD

Beer-Sheva  ISRAEL



brickner@in.zahav.net.il

************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.



------------------------------