AN ACCIDENT OF INTERNAL CONTAMINATION WITH PLUTONIUM AND AMERICIUM AT A NUCLEAR FACILITY IN JAPAN: A PRELIMINARY...

This article introduces the first accident of internal contamination with plutonium (Pu) or americium (Am) in Japan for which treatment was carried out. An accident of internal contamination with Pu and Am occurred at a Pu research facility at Oarai-town of Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. A plastic bag containing these radionuclides ruptured when five workers were inspecting a storage container in a hood. As a consequence, these workers were internally contaminated with Pu and Am. Although contamination on the body surface was observed in all five workers, a positive nasal swab was detected in only three of them. A chelating agent, calcium diethylenetriaminepenta-acetate (CaDTPA), was administered to all of them including the two workers without a positive nasal swab. However, bioassay detected a significant amount of Pu and Am in urine after administration of DTPA in these two workers, whereas the levels of these nuclides were below minimum detectable levels in urine before the administration. Since the prevalence of adverse reactions in DTPAs is low, the present results suggest that administration of DTPA can be used for the diagnosis of internal contamination even when a nasal swab is negative or contamination around body orifices is not detected.