Over 3 100 ducks, geese, swans and American coots (Fulica arnericana) were censused at the Test Reactor Area (TRA) radioactive leaching ponds on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Site from January 1974 through March 1978. Twenty-six ducks and two American coots were collected from the TRA ponds from January 1974 through December 1977, and tissues were analyzed for y-emitting radionuclides. Duck tissues contained up to 29 radionuclides. Total average and maximum radionuclide concentrations were highest in gut followed by feathers. liver, muscle and skin. Chromium-51 had the highest relative radionuclide concentration identified (130,000 pCi/g-gut and 37,500 pCi/g-feathers). Cesium-137 was the predominant radionuclide in muscle with a maximum concentration of 4070 pCi/g. Edible duck tissues (muscle, liver and skin) had lower radionuclide concentrations than non-edible tissues (gut and feathers). The total amount of radioactivity being exported from the TRA environs during the 4-yr study period was estimated to be 5 x Ci. Cesium-137, 134Cs, and I3'I contributed 98% of the calculated potential radiation dose equivalent to man. The potential whole-body and thyroid dose commitment to man from consuming one waterfowl that was contaminated with the average radionuclide concentrations observed would be 12 and 7 mrem, respectively.
The biological elimination of nine gamma-emitting radioisotopes was studied in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) which were released onto liquid radioactive waste pounds in southeastern Idaho. After 68, 75 or 145 days, the ducks were removed from the contaminated environment and placed in metabolic cages. Whole-body and feces-urine counts were made for 51 days and then the ducks were sacrificed and dissected for tissue analyses. The biological elimination of radioisotopes were fit to two compartment models using non-linear least squares estimation. Fecal-urine data substantiated two-compartment elimination of all radionuclides. Biological half-lives in mallards were 10 days (131I), 22 days (140Ba), 86 days (51Cr), 32 days (58Co), 26 days (75Se), 67 days (65Zn), 10 days (134Cs), 67 days (60Co) and 11 days (137Cs). Body burdens in ducks were at 90% of equilibrium with the radioactive waste pond water at the time of removal from the waste ponds. Tissue distribution of radionuclides on the day of removal from the ponds showed gut to have the highest concentrations followed by feather, liver and muscle. After 51 days in metabolic cages, feather had the greatest radionuclide concentrations followed by liver, muscle and gut. Liver contained the greatest variety of radionuclides and muscle the smallest. Biological elimination rates for the major dose-contributing nuclides (134Cs and 137Cs) to humans consuming contaminated waterfowl tissue indicate that the dose to man could be reduced substantially due to the rapid elimination of these radionuclides by mallards. Contaminated waterfowl would receive most of the internal dose in the first month after leaving the contaminated environment indicating that long-term doses would be inconsequential.
Waterfowl were collected at radioactive leaching ponds, an adjacent sewage lagoon on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory ( INEL ) and on nearby control areas to determine 129I / 127I (stable isotope) atom ratios in muscle tissue. Iodine-129/127 atom ratios in muscle tissue averaged about 1.6 X 10(-6) for wild waterfowl from the leaching pond, 1.6 X 10(-6) for waterfowl from the sewage pond, and 1.3 X 10(-6) for control samples. A group of wing-clipped waterfowl placed on the ponds for 2-156 days had average 129I / 127I atom ratios in muscle of 6.0 X 10(-6). Iodine-129/127 atom ratios in muscle were statistically higher (P less than 0.05) in the wing-clipped waterfowl than in control, sewage lagoon and wild waterfowl samples because of the extended period of time they spent on the ponds. Internal lifetime whole-body dose from 129I was estimated to be 1.0 X 10(-5) mrad for waterfowl from control areas and 3.0 X 10(-5) mrad for leaching pond waterfowl. The lifetime thyroid dose commitment to man consuming a wild duck from the leaching ponds was 1.3 X 10(-4) mrem. Liquid effluents disposed in the radioactive leaching ponds do not appear to cause an appreciable increase in 129I / 127I atom ratios in tissues of waterfowl using the ponds.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.