Transfer of 137Cs from feed to lambs' meat and the influence of feeding bentonite.
1989
Andersson I.
Hay with an average 137Cs activity concentration of 2 600 Bq per kg dry matter was fed to 20 nearly uncontaminated lambs during 6 weeks prior to slaughter. The lambs were equally distributed into two treatments, A and B, with 0% and 10% addition of the clay sodium bentonite in their concentrate mixtures, respectively. The concentration of 137Cs (mean +- standard deviation) in samples of foreleg meat (mainly from M. extensor carpi radialis), taken at the routine official activity control of carcasses, was 460+-113 Bq/kg (A) and 65+-14 Bq/kg (B), demonstrating that the bentonite additive had a significantly reducing effect on the 137Cs content. The activity transfer, expressed as the fraction of the average daily activity intake of 137Cs during 14 days prior to slaughter distributed per kg meat (day.kg-1), was calculated to be 0.24 and 0.03 in treatments A and B, respectively. The concentration of 137Cs in erythrocytes before slaughter was, on average, about 3-4 times lower than that in the foreleg samples. No adverse effects of bentonite feeding on mineral metabolism were observed as measured by the concentrations of Na, K or Cl in blood serum samples collected weekly.
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