Radiocesium accumulation and germline mutations in chronically exposed wild boar from Fukushima, with radiation doses to human consumers of contaminated meat

Anderson, Donovan; Kaneko, Shingo; Harshman, Amber; Okuda, Kei; Takagi, Toshihito; Chinn, Sarah M.; Beasley, James C.; Nanba, Kenji; Ishiniwa, Hiroko; Hinton, Thomas G.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119359

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The unusually high levels in wild boars not only legitimate rigid regulatory control for human food safety, they are partly (21% of samples) also above the conservative screening benchmark levels (i.e., 10 μGy•h −1 ) for boars themselves. 21 Although the weapons-137 Cs has resided in the environment for at least 60 years (i.e., two physical half-lives of 137 Cs) and its contribution as a pollutant of central Europe has generally been regarded as negligible compared to that of Chornobyl, our work provides the forensic evidence showing that this underestimated 137 Cs legacy can accumulate in certain environmental media along with more recent reactor-137 Cs releases. Both contributors form an intense 137 Cs source that exceeds the contribution from any singular, yet dominant source in the area (like Chornobyl in the case of Bavaria).…”

Section: ■ Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…By implementation of a mixing model, our findings demonstrate that weapons- 137 Cs contributed between 12 and 68% in those samples that exceeded the regulatory limit. The unusually high levels in wild boars not only legitimate rigid regulatory control for human food safety, they are partly (21% of samples) also above the conservative screening benchmark levels (i.e., 10 μGy·h –1 ) for boars themselves …”

Section: Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was reported that 137 Cs inventory in surface soil ranged from 10 2 to 10 5 Bq·m –2 in April 1986 [data from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Germany]. As a potent accumulator of 137 Cs, , regional wild boars (Sus scrofa) were subsequently contaminated, and the 137 Cs activity concentrations in their meat exceeded the regulatory limit by approximately 1–2 orders of magnitude. However, unlike most forest species, which initially also exhibited high 137 Cs contamination in their bodies followed by a decline with time (i.e., a short ecological half-life), , 137 Cs levels in wild boars have not shown a significant decline trend since 1986. , In certain locations and instances, the decline in contamination levels is even slower than the physical half-life of 137 Cs .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Stäger,

Zok,

Schiller

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Radionuclides released from nuclear accidents or explosions pose long-term threats to ecosystem health. A prominent example is wild boar contamination in central Europe, which is notorious for its persistently high 137 Cs levels. However, without reliable source identification, the origin of this decades old problem has been uncertain. Here, we target radiocesium contamination in wild boars from Bavaria. Our samples (2019–2021) range from 370 to 15,000 Bq·kg –1 137 Cs, thus exceeding the regulatory limits (600 Bq·kg –1 ) by a factor of up to 25. Using an emerging nuclear forensic fingerprint, 135 Cs/ 137 Cs, we distinguished various radiocesium source legacies in their source composition. All samples exhibit signatures of mixing of Chornobyl and nuclear weapons fallout, with 135 Cs/ 137 Cs ratios ranging from 0.67 to 1.97. Although Chornobyl has been widely believed to be the prime source of 137 Cs in wild boars, we find that “old” 137 Cs from weapons fallout significantly contributes to the total level (10–68%) in those specimens that exceeded the regulatory limit. In some cases, weapons- 137 Cs alone can lead to exceedances of the regulatory limit, especially in samples with a relatively low total 137 Cs level. Our findings demonstrate that the superposition of older and newer legacies of 137 Cs can vastly surpass the impact of any singular yet dominant source and thus highlight the critical role of historical releases of 137 Cs in current environmental pollution challenges.

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Section: ■ Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Stäger,

Zok,

Schiller

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…These food contaminants are the main source of radioactivity entering the human body. Exposure to 137 Cs by ingestion or inhalation distributes radioactive material to soft tissues, especially muscle tissue, increasing the risk of cancer ( 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Levels of caesium-137 in food of animal origin in Poland

Gembal,

Czerski,

Milczarczyk

et al. 2023

Journal of Veterinary Research

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Introduction Radioactive contamination of the environment is one of the greatest threats after a nuclear accident due to released radionuclides. From a radiotoxicological point of view, the most important radionuclide is caesium-137. Formed mainly during nuclear explosions, caesium-137 can persist in the soil for many years, from where it constantly enters the food chain. One of the elements of ensuring food safety is the monitoring of its radioactive contamination, mainly with radioactive caesium isotopes. The aim of the study was to determine the content of caesium-137 in food of animal origin. Material and Methods A total of 1,416 muscle samples from cattle, sheep, pigs, game and fish, as well as chicken eggs and dairy products were examined using gamma-ray spectrometry. Results Caesium-137 activities ranged from below the minimum detectable activity concentration (MDC) to over 4,000 Bq/kg wet weight (w.w.). Most often, the values did not exceed the MDC or were in a range below 100 Bq/kg. The exception was the muscle tissue of game animals, especially wild boar, where a significant activity of caesium-137 was recorded, the highest of which was 4,136.8 ± 238 Bq/kg w.w. Committed effective doses determined for each matrix ranged from 0.01 to 0.83 µSv/kg, with the highest value determined for wild boar. Conclusion The calculated exposure doses with values well below the accepted low radiation dose (100 mSv) did not indicate any significant amounts of ionising radiation from the food consumed.

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Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan

Berendes

Steinhäuser

2022

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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Wild boars (Sus scrofa) are notorious for accumulating high contamination levels of 137Cs in their meat. Publicly available data of 137Cs contamination levels in wild boars from 2011 to 2019 were used to determine some radioecological characteristics in Germany (affected by Chernobyl-fallout, 1986) and Japan (affected Fukushima, 2011). The effective half-life of 137Cs in wild boar meat was much longer in Germany (7.3 y) than in Japan (2.6 y), respectively. Wild boars in Germany thus show much more persistent contamination levels than other game or forest animals. This unusual behavior has been termed “wild boar paradox.” In German wild boars, the data sets reveal a distinct geographical and seasonal dependence with higher activity concentrations in winter than in summer. In Japan, contamination levels only exhibit a distinct decline behavior.

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Radiocesium accumulation and germline mutations in chronically exposed wild boar from Fukushima, with radiation doses to human consumers of contaminated meat

Cited by 5 publications

References 47 publications

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Levels of caesium-137 in food of animal origin in Poland

Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan

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Radiocesium accumulation and germline mutations in chronically exposed wild boar from Fukushima, with radiation doses to human consumers of contaminated meat

Cited by 5 publications

References 47 publications

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-137Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-137Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Levels of caesium-137 in food of animal origin in Poland

Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars

Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons-¹³⁷Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars