Distribution of Plutonium-239 and Americium-241 in the Human Skeleton

The concentration of 239Pu and 241Am in each bone of two nuclear workers having 25 years exposure was determined. The defleshed bones of the right half of each skeleton were ashed and dissolved in acid. Each radioisotope was isolated, electrodeposited on to planchets, and counted by alpha pulse height spectrometry. The long bones of the arms and legs were separated into the shaft and the proximal and distal ends. Gross distributions in the cancellous and mineral bones were measured.