Volume I. Environmental effects on contents of Cs-137 and Sr-90 in milk. Volume II. Appendices

Technical Report · Thu Sep 03 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:6795890

Milk, animal fodders, soils, humans, livestock, and wildlife on or near 55 dairy farms in Utah were assayed for radionuclide content. Effects of soil chemistry, water supply, plant type, farming practices, geographic location, altitude, rainfall, and other ecological differences were sought by intensive analysis. Although many analyses have not been completed, several cause-effect relationships have been defined. Wet-lands yield more /sup 137/Cs, /sup 131/I, or /sup 90/Sr to milk under like conditions of fallout intensity than dry-lands. In most cases, the station with the highest yield is also practicing wet grazing. /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs content of milk is enhanced by sandy soils. Increased altitude and higher rainfall lead to higher yields of /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs in milk. Levels of /sup 137/Cs in milk increase from south to north, and Utah can be divided into several regions, each having a characteristic level of /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs in milk, meat, and fodders. Poor pastures (over-grazed to the extent that stem bases are eaten and much soil is exposed) yield more /sup 137/Cs and /sup 90/Sr than improved pastures. Feeding green chop alfalfa or putting the animals on the meadows causes marked but temporary increases in the /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs content of the milk. However, the annual yield for two stations of similar ecology in the same geographic area is essentially the same. Experimental details are presented in Volume I. The appendices in Volume II are made up primarily of the data compiled at the 78 stations.

• Research Organization: Utah Univ., Salt Lake City (USA). Environmental Radiation Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: AS08-76DP00462
• OSTI ID: 6795890
• Report Number(s): UERL-4-Vols.1-2; ON: DE83003778
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510301 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Soil-- (-1987)
510302* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AGRICULTURE
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ANIMAL FEEDS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BODY FLUIDS
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CROPS
DAIRY INDUSTRY
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FALLOUT
FARMS
FOOD
FOOD INDUSTRY
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IODINE 131
IODINE ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MATERIALS
MEAT
MILK
MONITORING
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PASTURES
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
SOILS
STRONTIUM 90
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
VARIATIONS
WETLANDS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES