Long term effective half-lives for lead-210 and polonium-210 in selected organs of the male rat

The influence of /sup 210/Pb on the effective half life of /sup 210/Po in various organs of the male rat was investigated. Male rats were injected with an equilibrium solution of RaDEF. Rats were sacrificed over 140 days post injection and skull, femur, spine, kidney, gonads, spleen, liver, lungs, blood, and heart removed, weighed, and analyzed for their /sup 210/Po and /sup 210/Pb content. The data indicate that soft tissue, half life and distribution values for /sup 210/Po will be influenced by the release of /sup 210/Po from the bone compartment. The results bring into question the MPC values for decay chains (i.e., RaDE F decay chain) in which daughter products can be redistributed to other organs thereby increasing the radiation dose to these organs. (auth)