|
pubmed:abstractText |
During the period April 1962 to April 1963, 28 newborn infants, 7 stillborns, and 21 children from 4 to 15 years of age were examined for emission of gamma activity in a low-background, high-sensitivity, total-body counting facility. The 21 children contained traces of combined Zr(95) and Nb(95), Ru(103), (106), and Cs(137) in addition to the normal K(40). The greatest concentration of Cs(137) observed was 80 picocuries per kilogram of body weight, or about 4 percent of the natural K(40) radioactivity. Four of the seven stillborns, each counted for 10 hours, shoWed K(40) and traces of Zr(95), Nb(95), and Ru(103), (106). The ratios of Zr(95) to Nb(95) were lower in the stillborns than in their placentas which suggested placental discrimination against Zr(95). The ratios of Cs(137) to K(40) were lower in infants than in children or adults. Thyroid glands obtained atautopsy from 24 infants during April to September 1962 contained no detectable radioiodine ( less than 30 pc).
|
