DISTRIBUTION OF POORLY SOLUBLE ALPHA-EMIT TERS DEPOSITED AFTER INHALATION IN LUNG TISSUES - NEW METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES

We have developed an autoradiographic method to provide representative images of dose rate and dose distribution in the lungs after actinide oxide inhalation. This was based on the study of 30 mu m thick dry se ctions obtained from 200 mu m thick cryostat sections. In this case, s olid track detector had a recording yield similar to that obtain for 5 mu m thin sections and the resolution was less than 90 mu m. Using th is method, we visualized a heterogeneous particle distribution as soon as 3 months after exposure of rats to (U, Pu)O-2, aerosols.