Tissue Samples From Exposure to Plutonium and Uranium To Be Studied To Determine How Individuals Who Were Exposed Have Been Affected

In addition to radiation tissue samples of asbestos or beryllium nature will also be studied. This is applying technology and information to libraries of samples that have not been previously studied for long term effects. As mentioned in the article workers who were accidentally exposed to radiation may now have an answer in time as the research begins. Volunteer donations of samples from Hanford and Los Alamos are also making the study possible so in addition to libraries on file, current tissue samples can be analyzed as well. BD

ScienceDaily (Oct. 6, 2010) — Tucked away in a metal sided warehouse at the Richland Airport, Washington State University researchers sift through years, even decades, of data files and human tissue samples in an attempt to track how previous nuclear workers were affected by and other nuclear-industry related elements.

The project is called "The United States Transuranium & Uranium Registries," (USTUR) and is operated by the WSU College of Pharmacy, with support from the United State Department of Energy Office of Health and Safety.

The samples of tissue and body organs come from volunteer donors who worked at government sites where plutonium, uranium and other elements were processed, such as Hanford and Los Alamos.

Collecting data from tissue samples means dissolving the tissue in an acid and running it through a series of separation steps so the purified plutonium or other desired elements can be extracted and collected for measurement.

Human tissue, organs help scientists learn from plutonium and uranium workers