Side Effects and Complications Associated with Treating Plutonium Intakes: A Retrospective Review of the Medical Records of LANL Employees Treated for Plutonium Intakes, with Supplementary Interviews. Issue 5 (11th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Glover, Lauren; Bertelli, Luiz; Dumit, Sara; Poudel, Deepesh; Smith, Lauren; Waters, Tom; Klumpp, John
• Is Part Of: Health physics. Volume 123:Issue 5(2022)
• Page Start: 348
• Page End: 359
• Publication Date: 2022-08-11
• Subjects: analysis, risk -- dose, internal -- exposure, occupational -- plutonium; Biophysics -- Periodicals; Health Physics -- periodicals; Radiation Protection -- periodicals; Radiotherapy -- periodicals; Medische fysica; Electronic journals; 612.01448
• DOI: 10.1097/HP.0000000000001603
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0017-9078

Abstract

Abstract: Anecdotal evidence indicates there may be unpublished physical and psychological events associated with the medical treatment of plutonium intakes. A thorough review was conducted of the medical and bioassay records of current and previous Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) employees who had experienced plutonium intakes via wound or inhalation. After finding relatively incomplete information in the medical records, the research team interviewed current LANL employees who had undergone chelation therapy and/or surgical excision. Although the dataset is not large enough to reach statistically significant conclusions, it was observed that adverse events associated with treatment appear to be more frequent and more severe than previously reported.