Biomaterial Database

Dissolution rates of uranium compounds in simulated lung fluid. 1983

D R Kalkwarf

Maximum dissolution rates of uranium into simulated lung fluid were measured at 37 degrees C to estimate clearance rates from the deep lung. The materials tested included: ore and yellowcake, an airborne sample from an industrial site, and purified samples of (NH4)2U2O7, U3O8, UO2 and UF4. A batch procedure was developed to test samples containing as little as 10 micrograms of natural uranium. Values of dissolution halftimes varied from 0.01 day to several thousand days depending on the physical and chemical form of the uranium. Dissolution occurred predominantly by formation of the #UO2(CO3)3 ]4-ion; and as a result, tetravalent uranium compounds dissolved slowly. Dissolution rates of size-separated yellowcake aerosols were found to be more closely correlated with specific surface area than with aerodynamic diameter.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007202	Indicators and Reagents	Substances used for the detection, identification, analysis, etc. of chemical, biological, or pathologic processes or conditions. Indicators are substances that change in physical appearance, e.g., color, at or approaching the endpoint of a chemical titration, e.g., on the passage between acidity and alkalinity. Reagents are substances used for the detection or determination of another substance by chemical or microscopical means, especially analysis. Types of reagents are precipitants, solvents, oxidizers, reducers, fluxes, and colorimetric reagents. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p301, p499)	Indicator,Reagent,Reagents,Indicators,Reagents and Indicators
D007700	Kinetics	The rate dynamics in chemical or physical systems.
D008168	Lung	Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood.	Lungs
D003124	Colorimetry	Any technique by which an unknown color is evaluated in terms of standard colors. The technique may be visual, photoelectric, or indirect by means of spectrophotometry. It is used in chemistry and physics. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)
D004573	Electrolytes	Substances that dissociate into two or more ions, to some extent, in water. Solutions of electrolytes thus conduct an electric current and can be decomposed by it (ELECTROLYSIS). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Electrolyte
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000395	Air Pollutants, Occupational	Toxic air-borne matter related to work performed They are usually produced by the specific nature of the occupation.	Occupational Air Pollutants,Pollutants, Occupational Air
D012995	Solubility	The ability of a substance to be dissolved, i.e. to form a solution with another substance. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)	Solubilities
D014501	Uranium	A radioactive element of the actinide series of metals. It has an atomic symbol U, atomic number 92, and atomic weight 238.03. U-235 is used as the fissionable fuel in nuclear weapons and as fuel in nuclear power reactors.