US EPA

1422043 

Journal Article 

Radiation risk estimation based on activity measurements of zirconium oxide implants 

Porstendörfer, J; Reineking, A; Willert, HC 

1996 

1 

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research
ISSN: 0021-9304
EISSN: 1097-4636 

32 

4 

663-667 

English 

8953157 

10.1002/(SICI)1097-4636(199612)32:4<663::AID-JBM20>3.0.CO;2-D 

WOS:A1996VV82900020 

Implants made form zirconium dioxide exhibit higher specific radionuclide activities of the uranium-radium and thorium series than metallic and aluminum implants. This study presents data on activity measurements performed on different samples of ZrO2 raw material (powder) and on the ceramic joint heads belonging to it to formulate a correlation between the specific radionuclide activities of the uranium-radium and thorium series in the raw material, the flux density of the alpha particle leaving the implant surface, and the annual dose of the tissue surrounding the implant. Based on this experimental study, an equation for defining the limits of the specific activities in raw material is proposed, taking into account the long-lived radionuclides (key nuclides) of the uranium-radium and thorium series weighted with their relative dose contributions from alpha emitters.