Dynamics and distribution of radiocaesium in broiler chicken

Abstract

The distribution and biological half-life of radiocaesium (137Cs) in broiler chickens after three oral applications (in course of 1 day at the age of 14 days) of artificially contaminated feed mixture were studied. There was a rapid uptake of the orally administered 137Cs (within a few hours) and also a rapid loss of 137Cs which varied in the different organs (the initial biological half-life was: liver 0.6 day, intestine 0.6 day, breast meat 2 days, leg meat 1.2 days). More than one-half of the total administered 137Cs activity (55%) was excreted from the body within the 1st day after dosage, and after 14 days more than 90% had been excreted. The highest accumulation of 137Cs occurred in meat (50%-90%), and the proportion of total activity in breast and leg meat varied during decontamination. The transfer of radiocaesium from feed into the chicken body (measured as ratios of the 137Cs activity concentrations in the organ to the 137Cs activity concentration in the applied dose) 1 day after application was: 0.0220, 0.0294, 0.0216 and 0.0195 for breast meat, leg meat, intestine and liver, respectively. Significant differences between the values were demonstrated (P < 0.05) except between those of breast meat and intestine. For the first 3 days there was a higher proportion of 137Cs activity in leg meat, whereas from the 4th day a greater part of total activity was found in breast meat. The latter results were confirmed in a subsequent study. Data from this study suggest that if broiler chickens are contaminated by radiocaesium to a level of 5 kBq/chicken in the course of 1 day at the age of 14 days, then immediate feeding with uncontaminated feed mixture for 18 days should be effective in decontaminating the chicken's meat below the intervention levels for radiocaesium in animal products, i.e. below 1000 Bq. kg-1.

Comparative study of 137Cs distribution in broilers and pheasants and possibilities for protection

“…In leg meat of broilers which were killed after 24 h, the percentage of distributed 137 Cs was 39.4%, while a slight increase (53.5%) was observed in pheasants. Pöschl et al (1997) reported that the fraction of 137 Cs in leg chicken meat after a single contamination was 32%, which is somewhat lower than our results. In pheasants killed after 24 h, the distribution of 137 Cs in the leg meat was 53.5%, and it was higher than in broilers.…”

“…4 137 Cs activity concentration (Bq/kg) in pheasants breast meat after single contamination and protection with AFCF and clinoptilolite 137 Cs concentration in the breast meat of broilers increased from 6% to 16% as determined over 24 h. The obtained relative values are lower than those (18%) reported by Pöschl et al (1997). In contrast, the percentage of 137 Cs in breast meat of pheasants ranged from 10.6 to 26.2% and it was higher than in broilers.…”

“…The uptake of orally administered 137 Cs was rapid, as reported by Pöschl et al (1997). In our experiment, after 2 h the relative concentration of 137 Cs in broilers leg meat was 5.3%, while that in pheasants leg meat was much higher (24.1%).…”

“…The transfer and distribution of 137 Cs after oral administration to different domestic animals (pig, sheep, cattle, hen and chicken) were investigated in earlier studies (Hood and Comar 1953;Mraz et al 1964;Voigt et al 1993;Pöschl et al 1997;Fesenko et al 2009) and the highest concentration of radiocesium was found in muscle tissue and kidney, followed by other visceral organs. The lowest 137 Cs concentration was found in blood.…”

“…The lowest 137 Cs concentration was found in blood. Pöschl et al (1997) reported that after oral administration of 137 Cs to broilers, the uptake was rapid and the maximal radioactivity in breast meat, leg meat, intestine and liver was recorded first day after contamination. Mraz et al (1964) reported that the greatest accumulation of 137 Cs in hens is in muscle and, compared with mammals, a significantly higher accumulation was found in the whole blood.…”