US EPA

1432351 

Journal Article 

Uranium levels in the fetus and placenta of female rats implanted with depleted uranium pellets prior to breeding 

Benson, KA; Mcbride, SA 

1997 

1 

Toxicologist
ISSN: 0731-9193 

DART/TER/97000632 

36 

1 Pt 2 

eng 

Metals such as nickel, lead and uranium have been examined for their toxicological and teratological potential. Acute uranium exposure before or during gestation, via injection or drinking water, has shown teratological effects on the offspring. Constant uranium exposure from implanted uranium metal has not been examined for either toxicological or teratological effects. This research is imperative, due to the increased use of DU munitions by the military, and the potential for shrapnel injury. The initial step in this project was to determine if maternal DU exposure, via surgically implanted pellets, will lead to uranium exposure to the offspring during gestation. Subjects were female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, implanted with one of five doses of DU, then bred with male SD rats. On gestational day 20, the dams were euthanized and uranium levels in the placenta, whole fetus, fetal liver and maternal kidney determined. A correlation trend test revealed an increasing trend of uranium levels in maternal kidney, placental tissue, and whole fetus tissue with increasing levels of maternal DU implantation. This effect was not seen in the fetal liver tissues. Measurements of maternal gestational weight gain and food and water intake indicated no adverse maternal effects. Litter parameters such as size of the litter, weight of the pups and male:female proportions were also not affected by the dose of DU. Histology of the maternal kidney indicated no histological damage. Further studies are under way to determine if the uranium exposure during gestation will impact on the neurobehavioral development of the offspring.