airborne U

[mcnaught@lanl.gov (Mike McNaughton)]

I am comparing the hazards of W and Y class airborne U-238, using the
derived air concentrations in 10CFR835 appendix A. Can anyone shed some
light on these?

For Pu-239, W class is 3 times as hazardous as Y class, presumably because
with Y class, some is cleared from the lung before it is deposited on the
bone.

However, for U-238, Y class is 15 times as hazardous as W class. This must
imply that the critical organ for Y class U-238 is the lung.

Is there a document that explains the logic of the derived air
concentrations in 10CFR835? Thanks, mike

"Shlala gashle" (Zulu greeting, meaning "Stay safe")
mike (mcnaught@LANL.GOV)