Radionuclide distribution dynamics in skeletons of beagles fed 90Sr: correlation with injected 226Ra and 239Pu.

Data for the bone-by-bone redistribution of 90Sr in the beagle skeleton are reported for a period of 4000 d following a midgestation-to-540-d-exposure by ingestion. The partitioned clearance model (PCM) that was originally developed to describe bone-by-bone radionuclide redistribution of 226Ra after eight semimonthly injections at ages 435-535 d has been fitted to the 90Sr data. The parameter estimates for the PCM that describe the distribution and clearance of 226Ra after deposition on surfaces following injection and analogous parameter estimates for 90Sr after uniform deposition in the skeleton as a function of Ca mass are given. Fractional compact bone masses per bone group (mi,COM) are also predicted by the model and compared to measured values; a high degree of correlation (r = 0.84) is found. Bone groups for which the agreement between the model and experimental values of mi,COM was poor had tissue-to-calcium weight ratios about 1.5 times those for bones that agreed well. Metabolically defined "surface" in PCM is initial activity fraction per Ca fraction in a given skeletal component for intravenously injected alkaline earth (Sae) radionuclides; comparisons are made to similarly defined "surface" (Sact) values from 239Pu injection studies. The patterns of Sae and Sact distribution throughout the skeleton are similar.