Abstract
INHALATION provides one of the most accessible routes for the entry of radioactive materials into the body. To evaluate the health hazards of airborne radioactive particles, it is important to know the biological effects of their deposition in the respiratory tract. When relatively insoluble particles are involved, pulmonary tissues may receive a large radiation dose because of a low rate of clearance from the lungs. The occurrence of squamous cell carcinomas as a result of the intratracheal injection of 239PuO2 was initially reported from this laboratory1. Recently, malignant tumours were described in rat lungs after intratracheal administration of Ba35SO4 and 144CeF3 (ref. 2), polonium-210 (ref. 3), and after implantation of strontium-90 glass beads and cylinders plated4 with ruthenium-106. This communication concerns the occurrence of malignant lung tumours in mice after intratracheal administration of 106RuO2 as well as 239PuO2.
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TEMPLE, L., WILLARD, D., MARKS, S. et al. Induction of Lung Tumours by Radioactive Particles. Nature 183, 408–409 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/183408b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/183408b0
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