Absorption of radionuclides through wounded skin.

The translocation and absorption of 58Co (CoCl2) through a wound was investigated experimentally with mice. Physical and chemical skin damages became the objects of the investigation. Abrasion, puncture and incision were made for types of the physical damage. The chemical damage included both acid and alkaline burns. The absorptions of the radionuclide through the contaminated wounds were measured with both a 2 inches NaI (Tl) scintillation detector and an auto well gamma counter at 15, 30 and 60min after the contamination. The radionuclide was hardly absorbed through an undamaged skin. After 30min, 20 to 40% of the radionuclide applied on the physically damaged skin was absorbed, but was not absorbed through the chemically damaged skin. The absorption rate through the physically damaged skin reached a maximum at 15 to 60 min after the contamination. The velocity of the absorption through the physically damaged skin was 100 times as much as the chemically damaged skin. The absorption rates through the physically and the chemically damaged skins were expressed by the following formulas: A=a(1-e-bt) and A=a(ebt-1), where a and b is constant, respectively.