Radiocaesium variability within sheep flocks: relationships between the 137Cs activity concentrations of individual ewes within a flock and between ewes and their progeny

Beresford, N.A.; Barnett, C.L.; Crout, N.M.J.; Morris, Charles

doi:10.1016/0048-9697(95)04863-4

Cited by 16 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…To support this work, samples of soil and graminaceous vegetation were collected during the summer of 1992 (Beresford et al, 2007). The farm codes (A, B and C) used here are consistent with those used in previous publications (Beresford et al, 1996(Beresford et al, , 2000 and the accompanying data set (Chaplow et al, 2015).…”

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 88%

Post-Chernobyl surveys of radiocaesium in soil, vegetation, wildlife and fungi in Great Britain

Chaplow

Beresford

Barnett

2015

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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Abstract. The data set "Post Chernobyl surveys of radiocaesium in soil, vegetation, wildlife and fungi in Great Britain" was developed to enable data collected by the Natural Environment Research Council after the Chernobyl accident to be made publicly available. Data for samples collected between May 1986 (immediately after Chernobyl) to spring 1997 are presented. Additional data to radiocaesium concentrations are presented where available. The data have value in trying to assess the contribution of new sources of radiocaesium in the environment, providing baseline data for future planned releases and to aid the development and testing of models.

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Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 88%

Post-Chernobyl surveys of radiocaesium in soil, vegetation, wildlife and fungi in Great Britain

Chaplow

Beresford

Barnett

2015

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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“…To remove effects of seasonality, the model was only parameterised against data for summer and early autumn. This period corresponds to the time of year when maximum activity concentrations are observed in vegetation and sheep [6,16,18] and autumn is when lambs are sold from the upland farms to enter the human food chain. Parameterisation was performed excluding data for the first year after the Chernobyl accident as intercepted deposition would contribute to vegetation activity concentrations during this period.…”

Section: Radiocaesium Transfer To Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The requirement for areas to be restricted is predicted as those lxl km pixels where the maximum predicted radiocaesium activity concentration in lamb equals or exceeds the working action level. Maximum radiocaesium activity concentrations in lamb meat were predicted by assuming a coefficient of variation for radiocaesium activity concentrations for sheep within a flock of 31.6% as determined from the data of Beresford et al [18,21].…”

Section: Model Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both the Ff and DM intake were measured in 3 to 4-month-old lambs grazing unimproved upland pastures within the restricted area of west Cumbria using faecal marker techniques to estimate DM, and hence, radiocaesium intakes [20]. number of previous studies which enable a limited comparison with model predictions (see [18] for details of the live-monitoring methodology). The measurements were from studies conducted 5-12 years after the Farm Date Chernobyl accident on 10 farms located throughout the Mean Range area of west Cumbria which was subjected to postChernobyl restrictions (Fig.…”

Section: Spatial Predictions Of the :37cs Activity Concentrations In mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Monte-Carlo prediction of changes in areas of west Cumbria requiring restrictions on sheep following the Chernobyl accident

Wright

Smith

Beresford

et al. 2003

Radiat Environ Biophys

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Following the 1986 Chernobyl accident radiocaesium levels in sheep meat in some upland areas of the United Kingdom were above the national intervention limit. West Cumbria was one of these areas and restrictions are currently still in place. In addition to deposition from the Chernobyl accident, Cumbria has been subject to radiocaesium deposition from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, the 1957 Windscale accident and routine releases from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant. A Monte-Carlo approach has been used to try to predict areas in west Cumbria where radiocaesium activity concentrations in lamb meat would require the imposition of restrictions at different times after the Chernobyl accident. The approach models the transfer of radiocaesium from soil to vegetation, based upon soil organic matter, and from vegetation to lamb meat. Spatial inputs are soil organic matter and total post-Chernobyl (137)Cs and (134)Cs deposition; a ratio of Chernobyl (137)Cs to (134)Cs deposition has been used to differentiate Chernobyl and pre-Chernobyl (137)Cs deposition. Comparisons of predicted radiocaesium transfer from soil-vegetation and the spatial variation in lamb (137)Cs activity concentrations are good and predicted restricted areas with time after Chernobyl compare well to the restricted areas set by UK government. We predict that restrictions may be required until 2024 and that in some areas the contribution of pre-Chernobyl (137)Cs to predicted lamb radiocaesium activity concentrations is significant, such that restrictions may only have been required until 1994 as a consequence of Chernobyl radiocaesium deposition alone. This work represents a novel implementation of a spatial radioecological model using a Monte-Carlo approach.

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“…Considerable variability in the radiocaesium activity concentrations of individual sheep within flocks has been observed in a number of countries [1,3,4,5,6]. For instance, during studies on three west Cumbrian farms we previously reported ranges within flocks, on any one measurement occasion, of typically <200 to >1500 Bq 137 Cs kg -1 FW [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Radiocaesium variability within sheep flocks: determination of 137 Cs intake in free-ranging sheep

Beresford¹,

Barnett²,

Mayes³

2000

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics

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A study is described in which 137Cs intake by free-ranging sheep was estimated at two farms in the area of west Cumbria (northwest England) which received some of the highest amounts of fallout from the Chernobyl accident within the United Kingdom. The faecal excretion of 137Cs was estimated from faecal 137Cs activity concentrations and the use of intraruminal controlled release devices containing Cr2O3 to determine faecal dry matter output. The intake of 137Cs was estimated by assuming an apparent absorption coefficient appropriate to the herbage grazed. The methodology has the advantage that sampling of herbage representative of that ingested by study animals is not required. Caesium-137 dietary intake explained >60% of the observed variability in the 137Cs activity concentration determined in the muscle of sheep. Resultant transfer coefficient (Ff) values to describe the transfer of 137Cs from the diet to muscle were in agreement with previously reported values. At one farm, there was a positive correlation between the 137Cs activity concentration in muscle and Ff whilst at the other farm there was a negative correlation between Ff and 137Cs dietary intake. Potential reasons for these observations are discussed.

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Radiocaesium variability within sheep flocks: relationships between the 137Cs activity concentrations of individual ewes within a flock and between ewes and their progeny

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

Post-Chernobyl surveys of radiocaesium in soil, vegetation, wildlife and fungi in Great Britain

Post-Chernobyl surveys of radiocaesium in soil, vegetation, wildlife and fungi in Great Britain

Monte-Carlo prediction of changes in areas of west Cumbria requiring restrictions on sheep following the Chernobyl accident

Radiocaesium variability within sheep flocks: determination of 137 Cs intake in free-ranging sheep

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