Distribution of cesium-137 in reindeer

Authors

  • Kristina Rissanen Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, SF-96500 Rovaniemi, Finland
  • Tua Rahola Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, SF-96500 Rovaniemi, Finland
  • Pauli Aro Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, SF-96500 Rovaniemi, Finland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/2.10.2.795

Keywords:

Cs-137 distribution, reindeer, gammaspectrometry, environment, fallout, radiocesium, cesium, Chernobyl

Abstract

The influence of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 on the Finnish reindeer herding area was much smaller than the effects of the nuclear bomb tests in the 1960s. Only in one small area somewhat more Cs-137 was deposited than in the rest of the reindeer herding area. From that area 20 reindeer were chosen for investigation of the distribution of Cs-137. All tissues, organs, the skeleton, digestive tract, hide, head and hooves were sampled quantitatively. Three reindeer were pregnant and also the foetuses were studied. The Cs-137 amounts were determined by gammaspectrometric measurements. The results showed that the differences in the Cs-137 concentrations between muscle tissue from different parts of an individual reindeer were not more than 10 percent. Thus it is not essential from which part of the reindeer meat samples for surveillance purposes are taken. The concentration of Cs-137 in edible tissues other than muscle was lower except in the kidneys and scapula cartilage.

Downloads

Published

1990-08-01

How to Cite

Rissanen, K., Rahola, T., & Aro, P. (1990). Distribution of cesium-137 in reindeer. Rangifer, 10(2), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.7557/2.10.2.795

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (1990)

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain copyright and grant Rangifer irrevocable and non-exclusive right of publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). This means, among other things, that anyone is free to copy and distribute the content, as long as they give proper credit to the author(s) and the journal. For further information, see Creative Commons website for human readable or lawyer readable versions.