Decorporation of inhaled americium-241 dioxide and nitrate from hamsters using ZnDTPA and Puchel.

Accidental intakes of 241AmO2 and 241Am(NO3)3 can be treated with some success by inhalation of ZnDTPA . The main advantage of this method of treatment is that it can be self-administered very soon after an accidental intake, and it is effective for reducing the lung content of Am at doses about 10 times less than those usually used intravenously. Otherwise the efficacy of injected ZnDTPA is superior since in addition to removing 241Am from the lungs it can deplete appreciably the systemic deposit of the nuclide. There appears to be no advantage in using the lipophilic form of DTPA code-named Puchel , since following the inhalation or injection of the compound decorporation is not significantly increased relative to ZnDTPA .