TRANSPORT OF PLUTONIUM VIA FOOD PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN

W. W. Sutton
and
A. A, Mullen
Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Las Vegas, Nevada

ABSTRACT
Various plutonium studies have been conducted using domestic animals in
an attempt to determine what fraction of a quantified exposure would
reach the edible animal products.
Following either intravenous or oral
plutonium doses to selected livestock species, milk, liver, eggs and
skeletal muscle have been considered as critical deposition sites or
materials almost irrespective of resulting nuclide concentrations.
Milk and eggs received primary attention as their production represents
an efficient way of converting dietary crude protein and energy into
edible substances.
Potential problems concerning the biological availability of plutonium from tn vivo labeled food materials and the hazards
assoctated with recycling carcass residues have been considered.

INTRODUCTION
It is anticipated that with the increased use of nuclear power systems
plutonium will be produced in greater quantities and may present a major
health and ecosystem hazard.
The long physical and biological half-life
and high relative toxicity have dictated that considerable effort be
devoted to quantifying plutonium transport through the various trophic
levels.
A relatively small number of plant and animal species contribute the
majority of food products for the human population.
In studies designed
to assess potential nuclide transport via the ingestion of contaminated
food, research efforts are directed toward those species which are of the
greatest nutritive benefit to man.
Dairy cows, chickens, beef cattle,
goats and pigs have all been used as research animals at the Environmental
Monitoring and Support Laboratory-Las Vegas (EMSL-LV) in order to investigate
the blological transport of various radionuclides.
Domestic animals are
currently being utilized at EMSL-LV in a series of continuing experiments
to assess the transport characteristics of transuranic elements.

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