Autoradiographic analysis of internal plutonium radiation exposure in Nagasaki atomic bomb victims.

Background: Radiation doses received by Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors has been evaluated from data related only to external exposure because there was no reliable evidence for internal exposure in atomic bomb victims. However, we assumed that the contribution of internal exposure cannot be ruled out.

Methods: Autoradiography was carried out with the 70-year old paraffin-embedded specimens taken from Nagasaki atomic bomb victims who died within 5 months after the bombing.