Rog47 comments

Here is the Toxnet link and the relevant quotes I had initially found after some minutes reading

https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/f?./temp/~wGMNGd:1

Human Toxicity Excerpts:

/CASE REPORTS/ /LUNG/ Twenty-five male subjects who worked with plutonium during World War II under extraordinarily crude working conditions have been followed medically for a period of 27 years. Within the past yr, 21 of these men have been examined at the Los Alamos Scientific Lab, and 3 more will be studied in 1973. /Physical exams were extensive, including routine hematological, chemical, urinary exams/. The bronchial cells of several of the subjects showed moderate to marked metaplastic change. Diseases and physical changes characteristic of a male population entering its sixth decade were observed. ... The bulk of these exposures were by inhalation, although ingestion may have occurred also. Roentgenograms were taken of the chest, pelvis, knee, and teeth. The chromosomes of lymphocytes from the peripheral blood and cells exfoliated from the pulmonary tract ... /were/ studied. Urine specimens assayed for plutonium gave a calculated current body burden (excluding the lung) ranging from 0.005 to 0.42 uCi, and low energy radiation emitted by internally deposited transuranic elements in the chest disclosed lung burdens probably of less than approx 0.01 uCi. To date, none of the medical findings in the group can be attributed definitely to internally deposited plutonium. ... It seems likely that the bulk of these exposures were by inhalation, although ingestion may have occurred also. /Plutonium, NOS/

[Stannard JN; Radioactivity and Health, A History p.1465 (1988)] PEER REVIEWED

/CASE REPORTS/ /EYE/ The case of a worker who had been potentially exposed to external beta- and gamma-radiation and had possibly ingested or inhaled plutonium and other radionuclides /was described/. In three known incidents, his face had been contaminated with plutonium, some of which must have reached the bloodstream. After 24 years of work, the man had developed impaired vision due to cataracts. The estimated radiation dose to the eye, measured by external dosimeters, was approximately 0.8 Sv, which is below the threshold for this effect derived for gamma-radiation in the atomic bomb survivors ... /Plutonium, NOS/

[IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work). Available at: http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/index.php p. V78 394 (2001)] *PEER REVIEWED

Emergency Medical Treatment:

ANTIDOTES

1) DEFEROXAMINE a) USES: Iron, manganese, neptunium, and **plutonium**. 3) EDETATE CALCIUM DISODIUM a) USES: Cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iridium, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, **plutonium**, ruthenium, yttrium, zinc, zirconium. 4) DTPA, CALCIUM OR ZINC a) USES: **Plutonium**-239, Americium-241, Curium-244

Specific drugs and antidotes. Chelating agents or pharmacologic blocking drugs may be useful in some cases of ingestion or inhalation of certain biologically active radioactive materials, if they are given before or shortly after exposure. /From table/ Plutonium-239: DTPA: chelate iv over 30-60 min; wounds: irrigate with DTPA; EDTA may also be effective if DTPA is not immediately available. Aluminum-containing antacids may bind plutonium in GI tract. /Radiation (Ionizing)/

In some exposures, unusually aggressive steps may be needed (eg, lung lavage for significant inhalation of plutonium).

bronchoalveolar lavage a technique by which cells and fluid from bronchioles and lungalveoli are removed for diagnosis of disease or evaluation of treatment; a bronchoscope iswedged into a bronchus and sterile saline is pumped in and then removed along with thefluid and cells to be analyzed.

Use of a chelating agent should be considered immediately following an accidental intake of plutonium that exceeds the facility action levels ... . For maximum effectiveness, the chelating agent should be administered as soon as possible following the accidental intake of plutonium. Both the zinc or calcium salts of DTPA are approved for human use and are available under Investigational New Drug (IND) Permits for treating internal plutonium contamination

I just wrote and edited a substantial comment in response to Wanderlust. I thanked him for making us aware of Toxnet - Hazardous Substances Data Bank, but he apparently did not read much beyond the summary. There were no cases where people died within days of exposure to Plutonium. There were cases that involved Plutonium that inadvertently became critical and instantly emitted lethal gamma and neutron particle radiation. The first case of facial exposure and inhalation said that the man ended up having a cataract in one eye something like 24 years later. The next discussion was of a study over 50 years of Manhattan Project workers and said that none of them died any earlier than people who had not been such workers or exposed to Plutonium. I had all the references in the original comment and maybe it will appear.

Finally, if you look way way down on the extensive page, you get to Antidotes and treatment and there are ways to effectively treat Plutonium inhalation by lavaging the lungs and chelation therapy to removed the Plutonium from the blood. It also mentions that inhaled Plutonium seldom dissolves in the blood stream.