Effects of different decorporating agents on the whole–body retention of radioisotopes

Abstract

Internal contamination of people (persons) working in the nuclear industry and laboratories or living near such establishments may occur as a result of single or repeated exposures to radionuclides. Some of the population that might ingest radionuclides could also be expected to receive substantial doses of external (mainly gamma–rays and/or neutrons) radiation. Among the fission products forming in nuclear reactions are elements such as strontium, niobium, caesium, rare earth elements and plutonium. These play an important role when they are released into the environment and are also the focal point of radiation protection. The authors investigated the effectiveness of some important decorporating compounds in the case of internal contamination with radionuclides (cesium, strontium and cerium) in animal experiments.