Body burden and distribution of 137Cs in reindeer

Abstract

The whole body was collected from 6 reindeer that had been grazing contaminated pasture and from 6 reindeer that had been fed uncontaminated feed the last weeks before slaughter. The body was emptied from in-gesta and weighed. Samples were taken from skeletal muscle, kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, rumen wall, bone and blood. The total activity of 137Cs in the ingesta-free body and the acitivity concentration of l37Cs in the different tissues were determined. The highest acitivity concentrations of l37Cs were found in skeletal muscle and in kidneys. Activity concentrations in kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and rumen wall, relative to skeletal muscle, were lower in reindeer with decreasing radiocaesium levels, compared to reindeer with continuous intake of radiocaesium, indicating a more rapid elimination in these tissues than in muscle. The ratios between average activity concentration of 137Cs in whole body and acitivity concentration in muscle from the same animal, ranged from 0.51 to 0.62. A factor of 0.57 is suggested for calculating average body activity concentration of radiocaesium from known activity concentration in muscle.