et al., 1976c; and Smith, 1976b}. grazing the Area 13 range were sacrificed, necropsied, and sampled in January and March of 1976. However, data from these last samples are not yet available, so the following discussion will consist largely of a review of data previously available. : 3 3 ae a e 5 . | i = E : z é a 3 : gE 8 feos z° 3 se 2 § z 3 3 . oe b33 5 ube izy Ff = 3 Gpnaa 4bo . ‘ ( i ts yog Le up the bulk of the diet during the rest of the year. The plutonium activities measured in rumen contents were higher when Furotia lanata was the preferred shrub species. It is thought that this observed increase in actinide concentration with a concurrent decrease in solubility is related to the retention of soil particles by the involucres of Eurotia lanata plants which are in a reproductive phase during the fall. @ Els of animals from the inner compound (Barth, 1975; Barth, 1976). Jee e vi so Sef . In general, the plutontum-239 activities measured in tissues on a wet weight basis approximated a log normal distribution and fell within the following categories: <1 <5 <10 <20 <100 <500 pci/kg - muscle, blood serum, blood cells, whole fetus pCi/kg - ~kidney pCi/kg - Liver pCi/kg pCi/kg pCi/kg (less than 5 mos) - bone, gonads Those cattle samples that were environmentally contaminated were distributed as follows: 408 2 2 *, Ea Ts - a 2 ee R FE z 8 £ “ *, fb og ae ~~ , - 2: a nn a SE = /b ay é : glo 2 8 € 2 6 2 €5 FEE ES = 22 ¢2 7 ~ He 2 e282 “ pEeee & #8 35 £ 4 2e 2. : 52 3 7 7 £2828 2 5 ee ok BoE OB SE = ¢€¢ 3 2 7 8 __ _“pean e eo “oF? Lor 9 a a Sea hon SS Te Be. oe : A Be . w sea sm om eee 8 5 a6 8 = @ gs 2's 7 eo, S : 2 2 3 esa = 4 & 5 G : ‘ FAS Ba & 8 £h ena Sampling Statistics - Area 13 Beef Animals 409 32 eB 5 “ BoE Et 2 2 2 +2 g Ayo 2ow sa =: 2 DGG a 8 5 = ge 7 FFF RET EE Gaze Table 1. & ¢ FF ase ww © oe F 65 68 ei[? - 2 . 8 & . = 2 ts e566 OR ROB 7. osm. =- agj~ a 2 Fe 8 Sf 5 5 5 € & ms . . * . 3. 2 P'S ffs of s3i/5 Hat7- ae woe 8 2 ce 2, 2 3b eG : 5 ~ ee Pens Pe} sEl> 342 z 8 Loe 1 Eud E z 202 bE £ 2 € #S 3 & fos 7 2 2 4 5 per 5S , 4 “88 ££ 2 Boe ok oe fog acc 8 ad ® ER = 2 eae f& 2 Beg 8 ee sit By 2 3 Eat Ss = 8 = 8 ee & 3 wa — - lungs —- tracheobronchial lymph nodes z 3 & 2 EF E 6 the longest period of time (636 days) in the outer compound. © = 23 F = 8 The next highest concentrations were found in an animal that had grazed 6 ; EG 28 2 Es € fNsis The highest actinide concentrations in tissues were reported from a cow which grazed the inner compound (the area of highest contamination). Aas ; 3 & died during the 3-year study period. lost to coyote predators. 32 oof f 2a f£ fF Be G fe FR Eight study goats were mp £:f 22 22h: 3 « £ F £ & FF ef fF mined as the carcass was destroyed by scavengers. z- 5 g yt 2 2 fig ek Eo. 9 E464? SE Baio sf#le Cause of this death was not deter- 3 gas = No significant lestons relating to plutonium exposure have thug far been found upon necropsy or histopathological examination. Reproduction has ee/$ ze ‘ . : & The natural mortality rate was low as only one aged cow 7° F g]aos ¢- 7 “¢ . a © cos z ft; been normal. 3 oe : 5 fos to: of # 2 « Results to date from in vitro rumen digestion studies indicate increased solubility of the plutonium and americium-24! found in rumen contents from animals grazing the outer compound versus that found in the ingesta 2? es EE giz aye 63 oo | | : : 2 3 ipo GF oP Ra Relationships were noted between the seasonal variations observed in the botanical makeup and the actinide content of rumen ingesta, Grasses were preferred in the late spring and early summer months, while shrubs made gE eq? b | RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A a ! As shown in Table 1, the last cattle es =—— Estimated. Details on the experimental design and the analytical data from the beef tissues and rumen ingesta samples collected prior to 1976 have been discussed previously (Smith, 1974; Smith, 1975; Smith 1976a; Smith