Curium excretion studies in man and baboon: a predictive animal model

A major rationale for performing metabolic research in laboratory animals is to obtain useful information which is applicable to man. Since it is usually impossible to determine many of the kinetic parameters which are responsible for the fate of a contaminant in inadvertently-exposed individuals, it is essential that well-controlled laboratory experimentation in animals be performed. In the present case, we will demonstrate how our experimental protocol, i.e. curium in the adult baboon, can provide a model from which to derive important characteristics of curium in man. To accomplish this goal, we have compared the retention and excretion patterns of curium in several men accidentally exposed via inhalation, burns, or puncture wounds with that of 243,244Cm citrate injected i.v. in nine adult baboons. Although many of the exposure conditions are different in considering the two primate species (human and non-human), biokinetic research in the baboon may serve to estimate tissue burdens and dose commitments in man. Comparison of the excretion rates of the nuclide in the urine of man and the baboon gives similar half times between days 10 and 50 post exposure.