Abstract
Summary
The effect of age on gastrointestinal absorption of plutonium was determined for rats over the range 1 to 84 days of age. Absorption for 1-day-old rats was 85 times that reported for the adult. This dropped to near adult levels in the 21-day-old weanlings. Plutonium distribution in the 7-day-old rat was essentially the same as that found for the adult. Absorption of plutonium applied directly to the tongue or fed in drinking water did not differ significantly from absorption following gavage feeding. It was concluded that the hazard of ingested plutonium is not increased when exposure of the oral cavity and esophagus is involved.
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