[sup 137]Cs levels in deer following the Three Mile Island accident

Journal Article · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Health Physics; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199306000-00015· OSTI ID:6525824

Field, R W ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City (United States)

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgianus) tongues were assayed to assess whether or not significant widespread [sup 137]Cs contamination occurred in the vicinity of Three Mile Island Nuclear Station as a result of the 1979 accident. White-tailed deer tongues harvested from 10 Pennsylvania counties more than 88 km away from Three Mile Island had significantly higher [sup 137]Cs levels than deer tongues harvested from counties surrounding the nuclear plant. The mean deer tongue [sup 137]Cs levels found in Pennsylvania white-tailed deer were lower than [sup 137]Cs levels found in deer from other parts of the US sampled shortly after culmination of major atmospheric nuclear testing. These findings support the conclusions of previous studies suggesting that only minimal quantities of [sup 137]Cs escaped from the damaged Three Mile Island plant after the accident.

• OSTI ID: 6525824
• Journal Information: Health Physics; (United States), Vol. 64:6; ISSN 0017-9078
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
CESIUM 137
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
DEER
CONTAMINATION
TONGUE
THREE MILE ISLAND-2 REACTOR
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
FALLOUT
PENNSYLVANIA
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BODY
CESIUM ISOTOPES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORAL CAVITY
ORGANS
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
RUMINANTS
THERMAL REACTORS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560150* - Radiation Effects on Animals
560101 - Biomedical Sciences
Applied Studies- Radiation Effects- Dosimetry & Monitoring- (1992-)