[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Plutonium detection levels in Urinalysis



On Sat, 3 Aug 1996 mail15077@pop.net wrote:

> Good Afternoon,
> 
> I have been doing some review of "historical" Plutonium bioassay results on 
> workers.  Occasionally, one will see a bioassay result that appears to be just 
> above the LLD, but seems anomalously high as it does not fit any Plutonium 
> model very well.  While I suspect that these may be false positives (as I've 
> been told the Pu analysis has a very sloppy low end), I cannot find any readily 
> available information to support or refute that position.
> 

If you have a Pu urinalysis result that is near your decision level, it's
best to follow up with fecal analysis.  This may or may not be helpful
WRT "historical" results.  If the involved individual is available, fecal 
analysis should provide some assistance given the relatively long 
effective half life of Pu in the body.

As pointed out by Mr. Holloway, Pu urinalysis is subject to an appreciable 
degree of uncertainty at low levels.