Two commercially produced natural uranium tetrafluorides were administered to rats either by inhalation or direct injection into the lungs. The results:
1 show that, for both materials uranium is cleared rapidly from the lungs, much of it to the blood
2 show that the distribution of uranium amongst body tissues, and the fraction of the systemic content excreted in urine, is similar to that obtained after the administration of U(VI) bicarbonate
3 show that the transportability of uranium is much greater than in previously reported studies with other preparations of uranium tetrafluoride
4 suggest that lung radioactivity counting measurements would be of limited value for interpreting human exposures
5 indicate that for setting exposure limits these tetrafluorides should be considered moderately transportable compounds (ICRP inhalation class W).
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