[ RadSafe ] uranium trioxide particle dispersion and absorption (was Re: ... transfer factors)

[James Salsman]

Franz Schönhofer wrote:

> James Salsman ... pretends to be a specialist....

I do not pretend to be anything more than a volunteer amateur
generalist.  And, as at least one specialist has claimed that
UO3 molecules with a terminal gravitational settling velocity
of in air at 25 degrees C. of less than 0.02 microns/second and
with a diffusion coefficient between 0.2 and 0.05 cm^2/second,
"would attach extremely fast to aerosol particles," which
settle much faster and diffuse much less rapidly, I am not
certain that I would ever want to qualify as a specialist here.

Please see also P.E. Morrow, F.R. Gibb, H.D. Beiter, "Inhalation
Studies of Uranium Trioxide," Health Physics, vol. 23 (1972),
pp. 273-80.  From the abstract:  "inhalation studies with
uranium trioxide (UO3) indicated that the material was more
similar to soluble uranyl salts than to the so-called insoluble
oxides....  UO3 is rapidly removed from the lungs, with most
following a 4.7 day biological half time."

Sincerely,
James Salsman