Distribution of Artificial Radionuclides in Abandoned Cattle in the Evacuation Zone of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident released large amounts of radioactive substances into the environment. In order to provide basic information for biokinetics of radionuclides and for dose assessment of internal exposure brought by the FNPP accident, we determined the activity concentration of radionuclides in the organs of 79 cattle within a 20-km radius around the FNPP. In all the specimens examined, deposition of Cesium-134 (134Cs, half-life: 2.065 y) and 137Cs (30.07 y) was observed. Furthermore, organ-specific deposition of radionuclides with relatively short half-lives was detected, such as silver-110m (110mAg, 249.8 d) in the liver and tellurium-129m (129mTe, 33.6 d) in the kidney. Regression analysis showed a linear correlation between the radiocesium activity concentration in whole peripheral blood (PB) and that in each organ. The resulting slopes were organ dependent with the maximum value of 21.3 being obtained for skeletal muscles (R2 = 0.83, standard error (SE) = 0.76). Thus, the activity concentration of 134 Cs and 137Cs in an organ can be estimated from that in PB. The level of radioactive cesium in the organs of fetus and infants were 1.19-fold (R2 = 0.62, SE = 0.12), and 1.51-fold (R2 = 0.70, SE = 0.09) higher than that of the corresponding maternal organ, respectively. Furthermore, radiocesium activity concentration in organs was found to be dependent on the feeding conditions and the geographic location of the cattle. This study is the first to reveal the detailed systemic distribution of radionuclides in cattle attributed to the FNPP accident.

Wild Boars in Fukushima After the Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Distribution of Radiocesium

“…The lowest 137 Cs concentrations were found in the ovaries, bone, and thyroid glands. The trend is similar to that observed in cattle contaminated by the FDNPP accident in 2011 (Fukuda et al 2013), whereby the radiocesium concentrations in the muscle, kidney, tongue, and heart were consistently higher than the other organs. In addition to cattle, the radiocesium concentrations were highest in the muscles of pigs fed with brown rice that was contaminated by the FDNPP accident, followed by the liver and digestive tract, which follow a similar ranking to our data (Ohmori et al 2014).…”

“…Unfortunately, the 137 Cs ratio of blood to muscle was not consistent, indicating that blood is not a suitable material for monitoring radiocesium concentrations in the muscle of wild boars. We also found species differences, whereby the ratios of 137 Cs concentration of blood to muscles in wild boar, 0.24 on average, were much higher than the value of 0.04 reported for cattle (Fukuda et al 2013), 0.01 for calf (Green et al 1961), and 0.10 for pig (Green et al 1961). The reason why these 137 Cs concentration ratios differed so markedly among animals remains unclear.…”

“…Green et al (1961) reported the distribution of radiocesium and potassium in pigs and calves. Fukuda et al (2013) reported radiocesium distribution in cattle. These reports showed that radiocesium levels were the highest in muscles and that there were large variations between the organs.…”

Cryopreservation of Cattle, Pig, Inobuta Sperm and Oocyte after the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident

“…We recently reported radionuclide deposition in organs of abandoned cattle following the FNPP accident. The deposition occurred in an individual radionuclide and in an organ-specific manner, and radioactive Cs was detected in all the organs examined [22]. Discharge of 134 Cs and…”

Highly Sensitive Extrinsic X-Ray Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors Based on Fiber Tip Modification

“…This kind of radiation can be found in nature through radioactive elements, but also can be artificially produced in areas such as nuclear power plants [1,2], industrial facilities [3][4][5], and for diagnostic and therapeutic healthcare applications [6][7][8][9]. Therefore, a proper protection protocol for irradiation prevention must be based on the precise measurement of radiation levels in these areas [10][11][12].…”