THE TOXICITY OF URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM TO THE DEVELOPING EMBRYOS OF FISH

摘要

The radiological and chemical toxicity of plutonium and uranium to the developing embryos of fish was investigated using eggs from carp, Cyprinus carpio, and fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas. Freshly fertilized eggs were developed in solutions containing high specific activity 238Pu or 232U or low specific activity 244Pu, 235U, or 238U. Quantitative tests to determine the penetration of these elements through the chorion indicated that plutonium accumulated in the contents of carp eggs reaching a maximum concentration factor of approximately 3.0 at hatching. Autoradiographs of 16 u egg sections showed that plutonium was uniformly distributed in the egg volume.