title: Countermeasures for animal products: a review of effectiveness and potential usefulness after an accident.
abstract: Over the last decade, there has been considerable progress in the development of countermeasures for preventing or reducing contamination of animal products by radioisotopes of iodine, caesium and strontium. In this paper, recent significant technical improvements are summarised and the current availability of countermeasures and their usefulness in the event of a nuclear accident reviewed. An improved understanding of factors controlling the metabolism of radioiodine and radiostrontium has enabled previously suggested countermeasures to be either optimised or dismissed. For radiocaesium in particular, experience since the Chernobyl accident has enabled effective and feasible countermeasures to be identified and successfully implemented in different situations. It has also been more widely understood that countermeasure effectiveness, although important, is not the only criterion which needs to be determined. In addition, cost and practical considerations such as availability, technical feasibility, acceptability and side-effects need to be taken into account. Evaluation of these factors has shown that some previously recommended countermeasures are unlikely to be feasible.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology-Merlewood, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JU, UK. bjho@ceh.ac.uk
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Beresford
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Voigt
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D005295:Ferrocyanides; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006041:Goats; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D011210:Power Plants; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D005295:Ferrocyanides; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes; C056252:ammonium iron (III) hexacyanoferrate