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Newborn rats exposed to 85Kr exhibited acute radiation effects, e.g. epilation, skin scaling and abnormal development of the extremities, at beta immersion doses in excess of 1000 rad to the skin surface. The incidence of skin tumors, principally basal-cell carcinomas, was increased at all dose levels over the range from 1000 to 4750 rad. The effective skin-surface dose to induce basal-cell carcinoma in the newborn Wistar rat is apparently less than 1000 rad, the lowest dose employed in this study. No lung tumors attributable to 85Kr exposure were observed in these rats.

Wistar rats were exposed to 85Kr gas atmospheres to determine saturation/desaturation kinetics in major tissues. Tissue partition coefficients [concentration 85Kr in tissue (muCi/g)/concentration of 85Kr in the atmosphere (muCi/cc)] were determined following equilibration with 85Kr gas. Tissue partition coefficients were highest for adrenals and fat; lowest for bone, heart and brain. Tissue partition coefficients for immature rats, 1-12 days of age, and for adults, were not significantly different. The highest concentrations of 85Kr were found in fatty tissues and in gas pockets in the intestinal lumen.

Male and female Wistar rats were exposed chronically to graded doses of 85Kr to determine long-term biological effects of simulated environmental exposure. Rats were exposed in 4 groups, including room air-exposed controls and 3 groups exposed to 85Kr concentrations equivalent to 10(2), 10(3) and 10(4) times the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) for the general population (3 X 10(-7) microCi/ml). Exposures continued 24 hr/day, 7 days/week for 808 days, until only approximately 10% of the original 400 rats were alive. No effect of 85Kr exposure was observed on weight gain or tumor incidence, including leukemias. The results support the adequacy of established 85Kr exposure limits for the general population in light of the absence of evidence of build-up in tissues after chronic exposure and the lack of exposure-related biological effects in rats after near-lifespan exposure to concentrations equivalent to 10,000 times the MPC.

Pregnant rats were housed in 85Kr atmospheres at 10, 15, or 20 days of gestation (dg) and killed after 4 hr of exposure to 37-40 nCi/ml. The 85Kr was present in the components of the fetoplacental unit (FPU) at concentrations (nCi/g) equivalent to approximately 2% of the concentration (nCi/ml) in the exposure atmosphere. Tissue distribution of 85Kr and the distribution of radiation dose did not suggest any unusual hazard to the fetus associated with exposure of pregnant animals. This conclusion was tested using 5-day exposures to a 1000-fold increased concentration: 40 muCi/ml. The main effects observed in pregnant rats exposed to 85Kr from 7-12 or 12-17 dg (estimated radiation dose of 5 X 10(3) rad to maternal lung and 5 X 10(5) rad to maternal skin surface) were deaths, impaired weight gain and skin lesions. Secondarily, the maternal toxicity led to indications of embryotoxicity, although the incidence of malformations was not increased by the estimated 50-rad dose to the FPU.