A Brief Review of the Effect of Plutonium on the Human Body

Abstract

The Oma nuclear power plant is under construction near the town of Oma and Rokkasho village in Aomori Prefecture. The plant employs a full mixed oxide furnace and includes a plutonium reprocessing plant for the reuse of plutonium. To develop an appropriate medical treatment protocol in case of exposure to radiation from the plant, an understanding of the effects of plutonium on biological systems, in particular of those related to carcinogenicity, is required. Therefore, to examine the influence of plutonium on the human body, we have reviewed existing documents detailing surveys of workers exposed to plutonium radiation at the Manhattan Project in the United States of America and the Mayak facilities in Russia, as well as animal experiments conducted at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences and other facilities. We found that there is a significant dose-dependent relationship between internal exposure of plutonium and lung, liver, and bone cancers which is influenced by gender, age, and lifestyle habits. In contrast, radiation effects of plutonium on cancers other than those of the lungs, liver, and bone are considered to be extremely low.