Actinide distribution in the human skeleton.

Radiochemical analysis of two half skeletons donated to the United States Transuranium Registry from individuals with occupationally incurred depositions, one of 241Am and the other of 239Pu, revealed an inverse proportionality between the concentration of actinide in the bone ash and the fraction of ash (or the calcium content of the ash). A similar relationship was observed in a third case suffering from osteoporosis, but the slope was shallower. These results suggest that accurate estimates of the total skeletal content of actinide can be made from radiochemical analysis of only a few bone samples.