A pilot study on the transfer of 137Cs and 90Sr to horse milk and meat.

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.