Concentration of fallout plutonium in tissues of Japanese who died during 1980-1984

The concentrations of fallout 239 + 240Pu in various body tissues of subjects who were born before 1941 and who died in Akita and Niigata Prefectures in Japan during 1980-1984 are reported. The median concentrations in vertebrae, sternum, liver, lung, spleen, and kidney were 0.21, 0.08, 0.62, 0.11, 0.08, 0.03 pCi/kg wet weight, respectively. The concentration levels in vertebrae were approximately three times higher than in the sternum. No significant correlation between the concentration in the various tissues and age at the time of death was observed. No differences in the concentration levels in liver and lung were observed between the sexes. Correlation between the concentration in liver and that in lung was not significant. The concentration in liver was similar to that estimated from the ICRP 30 model. However, the concentration in lung was considerably higher than the estimated value. This difference may be caused by the pulmonary lymph nodes contained in the present lung samples. To obtain the average concentration of plutonium in the entire skeleton, further information regarding the macrodistribution of plutonium is required.