Disposition of intratracheally administered chromium(III) and chromium(VI) in rabbits.

Intratracheal instillation of 51CrCl3 in anaesthetized rabbits resulted in partial absorption. In blood, the absorbed material was entirely confined to the plasma compartment. Only trace amounts were deposited in liver and kidney. By contrast, after similar application of Na(2)51CrO4 the bulk of blood radioactivity was present in erythrocytes. Substantial deposition occurred in liver and kidneys. It is concluded that Cr(VI) may enter the body unreduced via the lung and is partly deposited in cells over a prolonged period of time.