Bioavailability Characterization of Actinides Recovered From Filter Swipes to Predict Lung Biodistribution Following Accidental Intake

In the event of worker contamination, and because dissolution properties of aerosols highly influence committed effective dose assessment, information regarding the bioavailability of inhaled contaminants is of great interest to the person in charge of the exposed workers. In this study, we developed and validated a new procedure to evaluate the early bioavailability of actinide compounds obtained at the workplace. Using the proposed method, actinides recovered from swipes taken in different glove boxes were analyzed using an in vitro multicompartmental and dynamic assay to assess the proportion of bioavailable elements. The transferred activity from the static phase to the dynamic phase of the assay device represents the bioavailability of the compound studied. Our data demonstrate the variability in the dissolution properties of the collected compounds among the different glove boxes with no clear relationship with their isotopic and elemental composition. We confirmed the influence of the presence of bioligands or synthetic chelators, as well as lung fluid surrogates, on the bioavailability of the compounds. Using a new method, intentionally designed to be quick and simple, we confirmed that each glove box contains compounds with specific dissolution properties. Therefore, our process deserves to be part of a toolbox for risk and dose estimation following accidental actinide intake at the workplace.