The National Human Radiobiological Tissue Repository
Resources for Radiation Dosimetry and Biological Effects
The National Human Radiobiological Tissue Repository |
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The NHRTR is one component of the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR). It contains frozen tissues, tissue solutions, microscope slides, and paraffin blocks that were collected by the USTUR at autopsy of workers with documented intakes of plutonium, americium, uranium, and thorium. The NHRTR is a Great ResourceThe samples in the NHRTR are available to qualified scientists who are interested in conducting studies of localized tissue doses, studies of micro-distribution of the actinide elements, or studies of radiation induced molecular changes. |
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The NHRTR Collection is Unique and Well Documented
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Samples Containing Radium
A unique collection of tissues from the Radium Dial Painter program were received from the Center for Human Radiobiology at the Argonne National Laboratory. Many of these materials have been stored in a frozen state in the NHRTR. These materials were derived from a unique population of workers in the Radium Dial Painter industry, beginning in the 1910’s and 1920’s in the United States.
Samples Containing Plutonium, Americium, and Uranium
The USTUR receives tissues donated at autopsy or whole-body donations from workers who had documented intakes of the actinide elements from employment at U.S. weapons plants. Upon receipt of the tissues, the USTUR divided them, radiochemically analyzed one portion of them, and retained the other portion in a frozen (- 70° C) state. Table 1 and Table 2 list the number of frozen tissue samples from partial body donations and whole body donations, respectively; Table 3 and Table 4 list the number of slides and paraffin blocks from partial body donations and whole body donations, respectively; and Table 5 and Table 6 list the number of dissolved tissue solutions from partial body donations and whole body donations, respectively.
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An NHRTR medical technician wraps some tissues after they have been weighed, properly labeled, and catalogued. Samples Containing Thorium
The USTUR has received and analyzed tissues from two whole-body donations that had been injected with Thorotrast during medical procedures. Approximately one half of each body was analyzed and the other half is preserved in a frozen state in the NHRTR.
Information About the NHRTR Samples
An inventory of NHRTR samples containing plutonium, uranium, and americium is included in the USTUR database. Information about thorotrast-injected donors includes amount injected, age at injection, autopsy reports, and radiochemical analytical results. The radiation doses to the radium dial painters before death and autopsy were determined by whole body counting and radon exhalation measurements. Detailed information about each measured dial painter is available through publications that contain tables with estimated skeletal radiation doses, exposure time periods, ages at exposure (and death), and much other pertinent information. This information can be supplied with frozen tissue samples and an electronic form of the files are available in DOE’s Comprehensive Epidemiologic Database (CEDR) at http://cedr.lbl.gov.
Availability of NHRTR Samples
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To qualify for receipt of NHRTR samples, researchers
must:
USTUR authorship on published reports is not a condition of collaboration; however, acknowledgement of the source of the materials would be appropriate.
Origins of NHRTR Samples - USTUR Operations
The NHRTR contains frozen tissues, tissue solutions, microscope slides, and paraffin blocks that were collected by the USTUR at autopsy. |
Persons with a known history of intake of radioactive materials are suitable candidates for participation in the research of the USTUR. Registrants are all volunteers who authorize the Registries to obtain their individual medical and radiation exposure records for research purposes, and to collect tissue samples after death. USTUR autopsies are performed by independent pathologists near the site of a Registrant death. Volunteer donors pre-plan the donation by granting the USTUR full consent to collect tissues after death. In some cases, the whole body may be donated to the USTUR. The consent can be withdrawn at any time by the donor and, after death, by the donor’s family. The donation program is similar to organ donations for medical purposes, designated on a drivers license. The research is federally funded through a grant from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) to Washington State University (WSU). The Registries are administratively part of the WSU College of Pharmacy, with offices and research laboratories located on both the Tri-Cities and Pullman, WA campuses. The radiochemical analyses on autopsy samples are performed in special laboratories on the WSU main campus in Pullman; the chemists are members of the USTUR staff and funded by the USTUR.
National Human Radiobiology Tissue Repository
United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries
Washington State University
2710 University Drive
Richland, WA 99352
Phone: 509-372-7317
Toll Free 800-375-9317
Fax: 509-375-1878 or 509-372-7160
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