A systemic biokinetic model for polonium

Although the biokinetics of polonium has been studied extensively, interpretation of the data is complicated by potential differences with species and route of exposure and the questionable reliability of much of the reported excretion data for man. A study was undertaken to identify the data that are most likely to represent the typical behavior of polonium and apply those data to construct an improved, physiologically realistic systemic biokinetic model for polonium in man. Such a model is needed for interpretation of urinary excretion data for workers exposed to 210Po and reconstruction of the radiation doses received by those workers. This paper reviews the database on the biokinetics of polonium and describes a new systemic biokinetic model for polonium in man.