Study of the incorporation of uranium in bones of Wistar rats and dogs BEAGLE, using nuclear techniques.

Grupos de ratos Wistar e cães Beagle foram submetidos a dietas com dopagem de urânio, iniciando-se no desmame do animal e prolongando-se até sua maturidade. O conteúdo de urânio em ossos foi determinado por duas técnicas nucleares: nêutron-fissão e análise por ativação neutrônica, obtendo-se microdistribuição e conteúdos totais, respectivamente. O conteúdo total de U em ossos de ratos, em função da quantidade ingerida (medida em ppm de U na ração), exigiu um comportamento tendendo à saturação para doses de urânio na vizinhança de 20 ppm, sendo verificado também ser este o limiar toxicológico do U em ratos. Observou-se uma alteração do regime de saturação para outro, linear crescente, em dosagens superiores a 20 ppm. Esta ocorrência foi discutida em termos de uma provável falência renal de origem toxicológica. A microdistribuição de U em seções transversais do colo femoral de Beagles mostrou que, contrariamente ao que ocorre em situações de ingestão aguda e única, esse radionuclídeo distribui-se igualmente tanto no córtex quanto na medula óssea. Vários \"hot spots\" de U foram observados na região próxima ao endósteo. Foi desenvolvido um modelo biocinético para descrever a acumulação do U em função do tempo, e esse modelo foi validado vis-a-vis dados obtidos neste trabalho com ossos de Beagles. Com isso obteve-se, por extrapolação, que a saturação óssea de U ocorreria num período igual ou superior a 8 anos. Doses internas e microdoses foram acumuladas para a região da medula óssea, e as possíveis consequências radiobiológicas foram discutidas, tomando-se como exemplo ilustrativo a recente questão do urânio depletado disperso, via operações militares, nas regiões do Golfo Pérsico e Balcans.Groups of Wistar rats and Beagle dogs were submitted to uranium doped diets, starting in the post-weaning period and extending till maturity. The uranium content in bones was determined by means of two techniques: neutron-fission and neutron activation analysis, to obtain microdistributions and total contents, respectively. The total content of U in bones of Wistar rats, as a function of the ingested amount (measured in terms of ppm of U in the food), showed a trend toward saturation for U dosages around 20 ppm, which also represents the toxicological threshold of U in Wistar rats, as verified in this work. Is was also observed, at dosages higher than 20 ppm, a change of the saturation regime into another linearly increasing. This fact was discussed in terms of a possible toxicologically originated renal failure. The U microdistribution in transverse sections of Beagle femoral shafts, showed that this radionuclide is equally distributed all along the cortex and marrow, which is at variance with experimental situations of single and acute dosages. Several U hot spots were observed at locations near to the endosteo. Is was developed a biokinetical model to describe accumulation as a function of time, and this model was validated by a comparison with data for Beagle bones obtained in this work. We came to the conclusion, by extrapolation of the model, that the U saturation in bone would take place after a period equal or higher to 8 years. Internal and microdoses imparted to the central bone marrow were calculated, and the possible radiobiological consequences were discussed, where the recent issue of depleted uranium dispersed in the environment, by means of military operations in the Gulf and Balkans regions, was used as a working example

Study of environmental burden of lead in children using teeth as bioindicator

The south region of Sao Paulo city hosts the Guarapiranga dam, responsible for water supply to 25% of the city population. Their surroundings have been subject to intense and irregular occupation by people from very low socioeconomics classes. Measurements undertaken on sediment and particulate materials in the dam revealed concentrations of lead. copper, zinc and cadmium above internationally accepted limits. Epidemiological and toxicological studies undertaken by the World Health Organization in individuals exhibiting lead concentrations in blood, near or below the maximum recommended (10 mu g dl(-1)), surprisingly revealed that toxic effects are more intense in individuals belonging to low socioeconomics classes. Motivated by these facts, we aimed at the investigation of chronic incorporation of lead. as well as the use of our BIOKINETICS code, which is based on an accepted ICRP biokinetics model for lead, in order to extrapolate the results from teeth to other organs. The focus of our data taking was children from poor families, living in a small, restrict and allegedly contaminated area in Sao Paulo city. Thus, a total of 74 human teeth were collected. The average concentration of lead in teeth of children 5 to 10 years old was determined by means of a high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). For standardization of the measurements, an animal bone certified material (H-Animal Bone), from the International Atomic Energy Agency, was analyzed. The amount of lead in children living in the surroundings of the dam, was approximately 40% higher than those from the control region, and the average lead concentration was equal to 1.3 mu g g(-1) approximately. Grouping the results in terms of gender, tooth type and condition, it was concluded that a carious molar of boys is a much more efficient contamination pathway for lead, resulting in concentrations 70% higher than in the control region. We also inferred the average concentrations of lead in other organs of these children, by making use of our BIOKINETIC code. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved