Sensitivity testing of an age-related, multicompartment dosimetric model for bone-surface-seeking radionuclides in...

The sensitivity testing of an age-related dosimetric model and its application to the dosimetry of 239Pu are described. The model is used to calculate the committed dose received by the skeleton and liver to age 70 y, following intakes of 239Pu by an adult aged 20 y and by children aged 0 and 10 y. The model is biologically based and takes account of the age-dependent transfer of Pu between the different organs of the body and between the different components of the skeleton. It consists of 22 compartments, 16 of which are skeletal, each connected by transfer pathways defined by age-dependent rate constants. The sensitivity of the predictions of the model, as applied to adults, to changes in the assumed values of rate constants were tested. The results of the tests applied suggested that the age-related model is relatively robust and is not particularly sensitive to changes in the assumed values of many of the rate constants used.