Models of Am metabolism in beagles and humans.

Two models of the metabolism of inhaled 241AmO2 in Beagles have been formulated. these models differ in their description of lung retention; the empirical dissolution model uses an empirically derived function to describe dissolution of inhaled 241AmO2 while the surface area model uses a dissolution function based on physical and chemical characteristics of the inhaled aerosol. Both models provide more accurate descriptions of retention data for 241Am from several studies in Beagles than does the model published by the ICRP. The surface area model is extended to describe several cases of inhalation of 241Am in humans. This latter model is employed to calculate Annual Limits of Intake for comparison with results based on the current ICRP model.