The effect of solubility on inhaled uranium compound clearance: a review

Research on inhaled industrial uranium compounds has shown that solubility influences the target organ, the toxic response, and the mode of uranium excretion. Consideration of physical chemical properties indicates that the dissolution of industrial uranium oxides is expected to be strongly dependent on process history, and that dissolved uranium exists in vivo in the hexavalent state regardless of the oxidation state of the inhaled compound. The overall clearance rate of uranium compounds from the lung reflects both mechanical and dissolution processes. Mechanical clearance rates are highly variable among individual workers studied, but dissolution rates of inhaled compounds are similar among the mammalian species studied. Results from experiments in vivo and accidental worker exposures indicate that the uptake of dissolved uranium from the lung is more rapid than the dissolution rate of most industrial uranium compounds. These results indicate that the absorption rate of inhaled uranium can be approximated by the dissolution rate of most industrial compounds. Dissolution rates of UF6 and UO2(NO3)2 are more rapid than the mechanical clearance rates and dominate the overall lung clearance rate. UF4, UO3, and ammonium diuranate have intermediate dissolution rates that are similar to mechanical clearance rates and exhibit high variability among uranium specimens. U3O8 and UO2 have slow dissolution rates such that pulmonary clearance rates are dominated by mechanical processes. Industrial uranium ores, oxides, and fluorides are often variable mixtures of relatively soluble and insoluble fractions. Dissolution rates measured in vitro can be used with biokinetics models to reduce the uncertainties in dosimetry associated with inhalation exposures to mixtures.