title: Cesium-137, 134Cs and 110mAg in lambs grazing pasture in NE Scotland contaminated by Chernobyl fallout.
abstract: The decline in Cs radioisotope levels has been studied in tissues from lambs grazing lowland pasture. The lambs were slaughtered 18 and 115 d after contamination with Chernobyl fallout. During this time the Cs activity decreased to 13% of the initial amount in animals that had continued to graze contaminated pasture and to 3.5% in animals consuming uncontaminated feed. The 137Cs concentration in grass from the field grazed by the lambs decreased with a half-time of 22 d over the period 11-100 d after contamination. The amounts of Cs radionuclides removed from the pasture by the grazing animals amounted to only 0.01% of the total, the rest remaining in the soil, with over 40% in the upper 10 mm. Small amounts of 110mAg, found in grass, declined with a half-time of 8.9 d, and the radionuclide was found to accumulate in liver tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio-Medical Physics and Bio-Engineering, Aberdeen University, Foresterhill, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heaton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D012606:Scotland; D012756:Sheep; D012834:Silver / Q000032:analysis; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012834:Silver