Inhaled Irradiated Terphenyls

Abstract

Mice were exposed to an aerosol of irradiated reactor coolant HB40 (a terphenyl mixture) for four hours daily up to eight weeks. No evidence of pulmonary injury was seen by light microscopy. From ultra- structural observations, free membrane debris in the alveoli was rapidly cleared and some mitochondria in a few type 2 alveolar epithelial cells became vacuolated. In the liver, there was an increase in smooth endoplasmic reticulum which is interpreted as an adaptive reaction with increased production of microsomal proteins. Both lung and liver changes were reversed a few weeks after cessation of exposure to an aerosol dose five orders of magnitude higher than that present at the reactor site.