Summary of literature values for alimentary tract absorption fraction (f1) of key fallout radionuclides in various ingested forms and experimental conditions.
| Ingested form | f1 | Comments | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iodine (I) | |||
| Literature information, based on ingestion from aqueous solution, milk and incorporated in foodstuffs | 1.0 | adopted value for workers (acute intakes) and the general public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1979; 1989; 1996 EPA, 1988, Kendall et al., 1988 (NEA) |
| Cesium (Cs) | |||
| Contaminated food items from Rongelap, Marshall Islands | 0.90 | only one human subject investigated, chronic intakes | Hardy, et al., 1965 |
| 134Cs +carrier in silicate form simulate distant fallout particles (see Table 3) | 0.82 (0.73-0.84)a | 5 human subjects investigated | LeRoy et al., 1966 |
| 134Cs carrier free in microspheres, simulated local fallout particles (see Table 3) | 0.31 (0.29-0.36)a | 3 human subjects investigated | |
| 134Cs in chloride solution | 0.89 (0.87-0.90)a | 4 human subjects investigated | |
| 137Cs and 132Cs, carrier free | 0.99 | 2 human subjects investigated | Iinuma et al., 1971 |
| 137Cs incorporated in venison meat | 0.78 (0.1-0.4)a | 10 human subjects investigated, chronic intakes | Henrichs et al., 1989 |
| 137Cs incorporated in shellfish from the Irish Sea | 0.23 (0.1-0.4)a | 6 human subjects investigated, chronic intakes | Hunt et al., 1998 |
| 137Cs incorporated in food and 137Cs in chloride form | 0.98 | 3 human subjects investigated | Raof et al., 2004 |
| Typical literature information for various animal species: Reindeer, Mule deer, Lab mouse | 0.57 0.78 0.27 |
NCRP, 2006 | |
| Literature information on various physico-chemical forms | 1.0 | adopted value by various organizations for workers and members of the public | ICRP 1979, 1989, 1996 EPA, 1988, Kendall et al., 1988 (NEA) |
| Strontium (Sr) | |||
| Sr in bicarbonate form | 0.10 | animal studies | Hamilton, 1944 |
| Sr in silicate form | 0.15 | ||
| 90Sr in diet and milk | 0.26 (0.09-0.48)a | 4 human subjects investigated, chronic intakes | Fujita, 1965 |
| Contaminated food items from the Marshall Islands (Rongelap) | 0.30 | 1 US subject investigated, f1 was calculated from intake and excretion, chronic intakes | Hardy et al., 1965 |
| 85Sr +carrier in oxide form incorporated in particles to simulate distant locations (see Table 3) | 0.23 (0.07-0.47)a | 9 human volunteers in two groups fed different levels of activity | LeRoy et al., 1966 |
| 85Sr carrier free in oxide form incorporated in glass microspheres to simulate local fallout (see Table 3) | 0.16 (0.06-0.25)a | 5 human subjects investigated | |
| 85Sr in chloride solution | 0.17 (0.08-0.34)a | 11 human subjects investigated | |
| Contaminated food | 0.17 | 10 adult humans on high Ca diet, chronic intakes | Spencer et al., 1963 |
| Literature information on various ingested forms | 0.3 0.01 |
for all compounds for SrTiO3, acute intakes (workers) | ICRP, 1979, EPA, 1988 |
| Literature information on various ingested forms | 0.30 | based on upper limit of soluble forms of Sr, chronic intakes (general public) | ICRP, 1989; 1993; 1996, Kendall et al., 1988 (NEA) |
| Barium (Ba) | |||
| 133Ba in local fallout simulated particles | 0.01 | ingested by 4 humans subjects | LeRoy et al., 1966 |
| 133Ba in distant locations simulated particles | 0.06 | ||
| Literature information on diet | 0.10 | adopted for workers (acute intakes) | ICRP, 1980 |
| Literature data on Ra | 0.20 | based on Ra absorption, adopted for the public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1993; 1996 |
| The Actinides | |||
| Plutonium (Pu) | |||
| Oral administration of soluble salts | 7 × 10-3 | review of various studies on rats | Hamilton, 1948 |
| Bicarbonate and citrate forms | (2 × 10-3 − 4 × 10-3)a | fasting mice and rats | Larsen et al., 1981 |
| Pu in chlorinated drinking water | (1 × 10-3 - 2 × 10-1)a | range of values based drinking water intakes | Larsen et al., 1983 |
| Fallout Pu incorporated in reindeer meat | 8 × 10-4 | estimated in Finnish Lappa population, chronic intakes | Mussalo-Rauhamaa et al., 1984 |
| Incorporated in plants via roots | 1 × 10-3 | suggested f1 values for nuclear fuel facility | Pinder et al., 1990 |
| Surface contamination on plants | 1 × 10-5 | ||
| Pu (+4) fed to fasting baboons | 1 × 10-4 | f1 values were similar in mice and humans | Bhattacharyya et al., 1989 |
| Pu (+4) | (2 × 10-4 - 9 × 10-4)a | range of values in human volunteers | Popplewell et al., 1994 |
| 239, 240Pu incorporated in typical Marshallese diet | 4 × 10-4 | 34 human subjects investigated, chronic intakes | Sun and Meinhold, 1997 |
| 239, 240Pu incorporated in shellfish | 3 × 10-4 (2 × 10-5 - 7 × 10-4)a | 6 human subjects investigated, from Sellafield plant discharge in the Irish Sea, chronic intakes | Hunt, 1998 |
| Oxides and hydroxide forms | 1 × 10-5 | adopted values, based on limited literature for workers | ICRP, 1979; EPA 1988 |
| All other compounds | 1 × 10-4 | ||
| Literature information for various ingested forms | 1 × 10-3 | adopted value for the public | ICRP, 1989 |
| Literature information for various ingested forms | 5 × 10-4 | revised value for adults (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1996 |
| 5 × 10-3 | adopted value for children (chronic intakes) | ||
| Incorporated into food and drinking water | 1 × 10-3 | recommended values based on literature information (chronic intakes) | Kendall et al., 1988 (NEA) |
| Neptunium (Np) | |||
| Literature information, nitrate form | 1 × 10-2 | based on the absorption of Np in rats, adopted for workers | ICRP, 1980 |
| Literature information | 1 × 10-3 | recommended for environmental exposures (low mass), chronic intakes | ICRP, 1986; 1989 |
| 5 × 10-4 | revised value, chronic intakes | ICRP, 1996 | |
| Americium (Am) | |||
| 241Am incorporated in shellfish from the discharge of sellafield plant | 1 × 10-4 | 6 human subjects investigated, chronic intakes | Hunt, 1998 |
| Literature information on various ingested forms | 5 × 10-4 | for all Am compounds, acute intakes for workers | ICRP, 1979 |
| 1 × 10-4 | for occupational exposure | EPA, 1988 | |
| 1 × 10-3 | adopted value for the public | ICRP, 1989 | |
| 5 × 10-4 | most recent recommendation, chronic intakes for the public | ICRP, 1996 | |
| Uranium (U) | |||
| Soluble uranyl nitrate | (5 × 10-3 - 5 × 10-2)a | 4 hospital patients investigated | Hursh et al., 1969 |
| Incorporated in diet | 1 × 10-3 | review of literature data | Wrenn et al., 1985; 1989 |
| Drinking water | 2 × 10-2 | ||
| U (+6) | 5 × 10-2 | fed to fasting baboons | Bhattacharyya et al., 1989 |
| 5 × 10-3 | non-fasting baboons | ||
| Drinking water | 2 × 10-2 | chronic intakes | Harduin et al., 1994 |
| Central values for different studies | (1 × 10-2 - 2 × 10-2)a | review and re-analysis of several studies | Leggett and Harrison, 1995 |
| Central estimates for environmental studies | (3 × 10-3 - 3 × 10-2)a | chronic intakes | |
| Overall range from food intake | (1 × 10-2- 1.5 × 10-2)a | chronic intakes | |
| Soluble inorganic forms | 5 × 10-2 | adopted value for workers | ICRP, 1979 |
| Soluble forms | 5 × 10-2 | recommended for occupational exposure | EPA, 1988 |
| Oxide (insoluble) forms | 2 × 10-3 | acute intakes | |
| Dietary forms | 2 × 10-2 | adopted for the general public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1995; 1996 |
| The Rare Earths | |||
| Cerium (Ce) | |||
| Various ingested form | 3 × 10-4 | adopted value for workers | ICRP, 1979 |
| 1 × 10-3 | value set equal to the actinide elements, general public | ICRP, 1989 | |
| 5 × 10-4 | revised value for the general public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1996 | |
| Yttrium (Y) | |||
| Various forms | 1 × 10-4 | adopted for both acute and chronic intakes | ICRP, 1980; 1996 EPA, 1988 |
| Lanthanum (L) | |||
| Chloride form, animal studies | 1 × 10-3 | adopted for workers | ICRP, 1981 |
| Various forms, animal studies | 5 × 10-4 | revised value for the general public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1996 |
| Praseodymium (Pr) | |||
| Soluble forms | 3 × 10-4 | adopted for workers, value set equal to Ce | ICRP, 1981 |
| 5 × 10-4 | revised value for the general public | ICRP, 1996 | |
| The Heavy Metals | |||
| Iron (Fe) | |||
| Incorporated in diet | 0.10 | adopted for acute and chronic intakes | ICRP, 1980; 1995 |
| 59FeSO4 | (0.1 – 0.3)a | in normal male subjects | Boender and Verloop, 1969 |
| Various forms | 0.30 | “cautious value” based on man and animal studies, chronic intakes | Kendall et al., 1988 (NEA) |
| Cobalt (Co) | |||
| Organic and inorganic forms | 0.3 | adopted value for workers (acute intakes) | ICRP, 1979 |
| Oxide and hydroxide forms | 0.05 | ||
| Environmental (trace) levels | 0.10 | adopted for the public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1993; 1996 |
| 60Co incorporated in shellfish from sellafield plant discharge in the Irish Sea | 0.2 | human study, chronic intakes | Hunt, 1998 |
| Zinc (Zn) | |||
| Inorganic forms and organic incorporated in diet | 0.50 | adopted for acute and chronic intakes | ICRP, 1980; 1993; 1996 |
| Incorporated in fish from the Columbia River | 0.35 (0.25 – 0.45)a | 7 human volunteers investigated, chronic intakes | Honstead and Brady, 1967 |
| Zirconium (Zr) | |||
| Oxalate form | 1 × 10-3 | absorption in the rat | Shiraishi and Ichikawa, 1972 |
| Various forms, animal studies | 2 × 10-3 | adopted for workers (acute intakes) | ICRP, 1979 |
| Soluble compounds, animal studies | 1 × 10-2 | adopted for the public (chronic intakes) | ICRP, 1989; 1996 |
| Ruthenium (Ru) | |||
| Contaminated clams | 1 × 10-2 | one male volunteer | Yamagato et al., 1969 |
| Oxide form | (3 × 10-3 – 1 × 10-2)a | animal study | Runkle et al., 1980 |
| Soluble chloride, animal studies | 5 × 10-2 | adopted for acute and chronic intakes | ICRP, 1980, 1989, 1996 |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | |||
| Sulfide form (MoS2) | 0.05 | adopted for acute intakes by workers | ICRP, 1979; EPA, 1988 |
| All other compounds | 0.80 | ||
| No specific information provided | 1.0 | adopted for chronic intakes by the general public | ICRP, 1993; 1996 |
a
Range of values