[Cesium-157 in milk produced on farms of the Angra dos Reis Region, RJ].
The first Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Angra dos Reis county, about 130 km West of Rio de Janeiro. Among the radionuclides that will be released to the environment by the Nuclear Plant, tritium and radioisotopes of Cs, I, Co and Sr are the ones of greatest potential impact on the local population. During the preliminary phase of the pre-operational environmental radiological program, 137Cs resulting from nuclear explosion fallout was detected in milk samples from only one farm, among the ones included in the monitoring program. This finfing seemed odd, leading to believe on the possibility of a soil anomaly on the region, in which 137Cs would be more available for plant uptake than in normal areas, as it has been observed in some areas in various countries. Trying to explain this issue, the Radioisotopes Laboratory of the Biophysics Institute and the Radioecology Laboratory of FURNAS decided to carry on a series of analyses of 137Cs in milk, pasture and soil collected in the four farms of the program. The results demonstrated the non-existence of a soil anomaly in the region regarding the 137Cs behavior Cesium-137 concentrations in milk varied from 0.06 to 0.93 Bq/l but the differences of the average values in the four farms were not statistically significant. In one farm, occasional high peaks of 137Cs concentrations in milk were observed, which seemed to be related to the cattle management. Apparently during certain periods, the cattle grazes in sectors whose 137Cs concentrations in soil and pasture are higher than in other areas of the same farm or the region, due to the influence of micro-climate and erosion of superficial soil.
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D008892:Milk / Q000032:analysis*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil
Césio-137 em leite produzido em fazendas da Região de Angra dos Reis, RJ.