Comparison of the dosimetry registry of the Mayak Industrial Association and the United States transuranium and uranium registries: A preliminary report

A preliminary study is reported comparing two research programmes for the analysis of actinide elements in human tissues, the Dosimetry Registry of the Mayak Industrial Association (DRMIA), Russian Federation, and the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR), to determine the intercomparability of data collected by the two Registries. Both Registries have been in operation for nearly the same period of time and each has a collection of dosimetric, medical, and autopsy tissue radioanalysis data for occupationally exposed workers from plutonium production facilities in their country. A comparison of selected data from those collected by the two Registries, liver and skeletal concentrations as a function of time between exposure and death of the autopsy subjects, indicates close compatibility of data. Median liver concentrations of DRMIA cases were 240 times higher than those of USTUR cases. The relative concentrations of plutonium in the skeletons and livers with time after exposure appear to be the same in both groups and this implies that the analytical results were comparable over a wide range of times after exposure and exposure levels.