BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY OF Sr$sup 90$ TO SMALL NATIVE ANIMALS IN FALLOUT PATTERNS FROM THE NEVADA TEST SITE

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1961

OSTI ID:4809598

Neel, J W; Larson, K H

The levels of Sr/sup 90/ soil contamination originating from Nevada Test Site activities and the Sr/sup 90/ bone levels of native jack rabbits and, in some cases, kangaroo rats, were determined in areas at different distances from the test site. Detailed studies showed Sr/sup 90/ to be persistent in the surface soil over a period of one year, and other observations indicated persistence for at least several years. Jack rabbits collected in 1958, one year after contamination by the fallout from the Plumbbob Series in an area 99 miles from ground zero had Sr/sup 90/ levels averaging 19.4 Sr/sup 90/ units at all ages. A similar collection in 1961 revealed a much reduced level of Sr/sup 90/ in the population (10.0 Sr/sup 90/ units average) with the few higher values restricted to the older animals. It is postulated that the biological availability of Sr/sup 90/ in fall-out is at its maximum at an early time after contamination; at later time the biological availability tends to be reduced by natural mechanisms in the environment. (auth)

• Research Organization: California. Univ., Los Angeles. School of Medicine. Lab. of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology
• NSA Number: NSA-16-010309
• OSTI ID: 4809598
• Report Number(s): UCLA-500
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ANIMALS
BONES
CONTAMINATION
ENVIRONMENT
FALLOUT
HEALTH AND SAFETY
KANGAROO RATS
NEVADA TEST SITE
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
POPULATIONS
QUANTITY RATIO
RABBITS
RADIOBIOLOGY
RATS
SAMPLING
SOILS
STRONTIUM 90
SURFACES
TESTING