A pilot study on the transfer of 137Cs and 90Sr to horse milk and meat.
Abstract: The radiological assessment of the impact of nuclear weapon's testing on the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) on the local population requires comprehensive site-specific information on radionuclide behaviour in the environment. However, information on radionuclide behaviour in the conditions of the STS is rather sparse and, in particular, there are no data in the literature on parameters of radionuclide transfer from feed to horse products proofed to be important contributors to the internal dose to the local population. The transfer of 137Cs and 90Sr to horse milk and meat was studied under laboratory and field conditions: in controlled experiment with three lactating horses maintained in the Kazakh Agricultural Research Institute, and in field measurements of horse products taken from horses grazing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The equilibrium transfer factors from feed to horse milk and meat were estimated to be 0.012 dl(-1) and 0.035 dkg(-1) for (137)Cs and 0.0022 dl(-1) and 0.003 dkg(-1) for (90)Sr, respectively. The biological half-lives were approximated by a sum of two exponentials amounting to 3 (85%) and 15 (15%) days for 137Cs and 3.5 (70%) and 100 (30%) days for 90Sr. The highest 137Cs transfer has been found to be to spleen, followed by lung, heart, muscles, kidneys, intestine, and finally skin and bones. For90Sr, the maximum activity concentration was observed in bones; contamination of other tissues is rather uniform except for liver and intestine with a factor of about 2 higher than muscles.
Publication Date: 2005-11-02 PubMed ID: 16260333DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.06.001Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research study conducted a detailed investigation on the transfer of two radioactive substances, Cesium-137 (137Cs) and Strontium-90 (90Sr) from feed to horse milk and meat, focusing on the potential effects on the local population and environment due to nuclear weapon testing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS).
Research Methods and Conditions
- Research was conducted under both laboratory and field conditions in order to obtain accurate data on how radionuclides behave in different environments.
- Laboratory experiments were performed on three lactating horses kept at the Kazakh Agricultural Research Institute. The effects were also analysed on horses grazing in the field at the Semipalatinsk Test Site.
- The main aim of this study was to estimate the equilibrium transfer factors and understand how these radioactive substances are transferred from feed to horse milk and meat.
Results
- The study found that the transfer factors from feed to horse milk and meat for Cesium-137 are 0.012 dl(-1) and 0.035 dkg(-1), respectively, while for Strontium-90, these are 0.0022 dl(-1) and 0.003 dkg(-1).
- Radioactive substances displayed unique biological half-lives, estimated by evaluating two exponential sums. The half-life for 137Cs was approximately three days (for 85% of cases) and 15 days (for the remaining 15%), while for 90Sr it took about 3.5 days (for 70% of cases) and 100 days (for the remaining 30%).
- Additionally, the highest transfer of 137Cs was observed in the spleen, followed by lung, heart, muscles, kidneys, intestine, while the lowest was found in skin and bones.
- As for 90Sr, the highest activity concentration was observed in bones. The contamination of other tissues was generally even, with the exception of liver and intestines, which experienced twice the activity concentration compared with muscle tissues.
Overall Implications
- This research contributes important information lacking in the literature regarding radionuclide behavior, specifically in relation to the Semipalatinsk Test Site and the local population’s exposure to these substances.
- The findings are crucial in creating measures to protect local populations from the potential negative impacts of nuclear testing and controlling exposure to radionuclide substances contained in horse products.
Cite This Article
APA
Semioshkina N, Voigt G, Fesenko S, Savinkov A, Mukusheva M.
(2005).
A pilot study on the transfer of 137Cs and 90Sr to horse milk and meat.
J Environ Radioact, 85(1), 84-93.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.06.001 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- GSF-Institut für Strahlenschutz, Postfach 1129, D-85788 Neuherberg, Germany. semi@gsf.de
MeSH Terms
- Animal Feed
- Animals
- Cesium Radioisotopes / pharmacokinetics
- Horses
- Meat Products / analysis
- Milk / chemistry
- Pilot Projects
- Strontium Radioisotopes / pharmacokinetics
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Sartayev Y, Yamaguchi I, Takahashi J, Gutevich A, Hayashida N. The association between upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings and internal radiation exposure in residents living in areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident. PLoS One 2022;17(11):e0278403.
- Iammarino M, Miedico O, Petrella A, Mangiacotti M, Chiaravalle AE. Innovative approaches for identifying a mechanically separated meat: evaluation of radiostrontium levels and development of a new tool of investigation. J Food Sci Technol 2020 Feb;57(2):484-494.
- Kimura Y, Okubo Y, Hayashida N, Takahashi J, Gutevich A, Chorniy S, Kudo T, Takamura N. Evaluation of the Relationship between Current Internal 137Cs Exposure in Residents and Soil Contamination West of Chernobyl in Northern Ukraine. PLoS One 2015;10(9):e0139007.
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