title: Assessment of radiocesium contamination in frogs 18 months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
abstract: We investigated the accumulation of radionuclides in frogs inhabiting radioactively contaminated areas around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) to search for possible adverse effects due to radionuclides. We collected 5 frog species and soil samples in areas within and outside a 20-km radius from FDNPP in August and September 2012 and determined their radiocesium concentrations ((134)Cs and (137)Cs). There was a positive correlation between radiocesium concentrations in the soil samples and frogs, and the highest concentration in frogs was 47,278.53 Bq/kg-wet. Although we conducted a histological examination of frog ovaries and testes by light microscopy to detect possible effects of radionuclides on the morphology of germ cells, there were no clear abnormalities in the gonadal tissues of frogs collected from sites with different contamination levels.
authors: Research Center for Environmental Risk, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.
authors: Noe
authors: N
authors: Matsushima
authors: Environmental education, regional education development, Hokkaido University of Education, 1-15-55 Shiroyama, Kushiro, Hokkaido 085-8580, Japan.
authors: Sadao
authors: S
authors: Ihara
authors: Institute for Amphibian Biology, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors: Minoru
authors: M
authors: Takase
authors: Research Center for Environmental Risk, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
authors: Toshihiro
authors: T
authors: Horiguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001822:Body Burden; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D005843:Geography; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010053:Ovary / Q000737:chemistry; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D011898:Ranidae; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013737:Testis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive