Re[2]: Limits of bioassay

[Charles Potter <capotte@sandia.gov>]

     You can also figure this out by using your equipment MDA's and 
     dividing them by the appropriate intake retention fraction available 
     in NUREG/CR-4884.  This would give you an onsite technical basis for 
     your bioassay.  Keep in mind that the minimum detectable intake 
     depends greatly in the elapsed time between intake and bioassay sample 
     or measurement.
     
     Gus Potter
     Sandia National Laboratories
     Albuquerque, New Mexico
     (505) 844-2750
     capotte@sandia.gov
     
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Limits of bioassay
Author:  rkathren@tricity.wsu.edu at hubsmtp
Date:    7/1/98 1:55 AM


What you can detect depends on a number of factors, including the method 
used (KPA and ICP mass spec are highly sensitive techniques), solubility of 
the material, time after intake, and the individual biokinetics.  However, 
there is a great deal of expertise in Canada with respect to uranium; three 
names that come to mind are:  Michele Giddings and Maria Limson-Zamora, both 
in Ottawa and both experts on uranium toxicity and quite familiar with 
methods for analysis, and Emile Lamothe in Deep River.  Also, check the 
paper by Medley et al. in Health Physics (August 1994) which gives a 
detection limit of 7 pg/L for U in urine using KPA.
     
Ron Kathren, Director
US Transuranium and Uranium Registries
     
 10:39 PM 6/26/98 -0500, Clement, Christopher wrote:
>Radsafers:
>
>I'm not that familiar with the limits of bioassay methods.  Can someone 
>point me in the direction of a reference for the minimum detectable 
>activities for ingestion or inhalation of uranium or thorium series 
>radionuclides?  In other words, for example, how many Bq of U238 with 
>all its progeny do I have to inhale (say all at once) before it can be 
>measured by standard bioassay techniques?
>
>------------------------------------------------------------ 
>Christopher H. Clement
>Scientific Specialist / Radiation Protection Program Manager 
>Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office
>Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
>clementc@aecl.ca
>
>