Respiratory tract clearance model for dosimetry and bioassay of inhaled radionuclides

The ICRP Task Group on Respiratory Tract Models is developing a model to describe the retention and clearance of deposited radionuclides for dose-intake calculations and interpretation of bioassay data. Clearance from each region is treated as competition between mechanical transport, which moves particles to the gastro-intestinal tract and lymph nodes, and the translocation of material to blood. It is assumed that mechanical transport rates are the same for all materials, and that rates of translocation to blood are the same in all regions. Time-dependent clearance is represented by combinations of compartments. Representative values of parameters to describe mechanical transport from the human respiratory tract have been estimated, and guidance is given on the determination of translocation rates. It is emphasised that the current version of the model described here is still provisional.