Distribution of uranium in rats implanted with depleted uranium pellets

During the Persian Gulf War, soldiers were injured with depleted uranium (DU) fragments. To assess the potential health risks associated with chronic exposure to DU, Sprague Dawley rats were surgically implanted with DU pellets at 3 dose levels (low, medium and high). Biologically inert tantalum (Ta) pellets were used as controls. At 1 day and 6, 12, and 18 months after implantation, the rats were euthanized and tissue samples collected. Using kinetic phosphorimetry, uranium levels were measured. As early as 1 day after pellet implantation and at all subsequent sample times, the greatest concentrations of uranium were in the kidney and tibia. At all time points, uranium concentrations in kidney and bone (tibia and skull) were significantly greater in the high-dose rats than in the Ta-control group. By 18 months post-implantation, the uranium concentration in kidney and bone of low-dose animals was significantly different from that in the Ta controls. Significant concentrations of uranium were excreted in the urine throughout the 18 months of the study (224 +/- 32 ng U/ml urine in low-dose rats and 1010 +/- 87 ng U/ml urine in high-dose rats at 12 months). Many other tissues (muscle, spleen, liver, heart, lung, brain, lymph nodes, and testicles) contained significant concentrations of uranium in the implanted animals. From these results, we conclude that kidney and bone are the primary reservoirs for uranium redistributed from intramuscularly embedded fragments. The accumulations in brain, lymph nodes, and testicles suggest the potential for unanticipated physiological consequences of exposure to uranium through this route.