DUT One.
AMNStead,
and Ivalo
in TNE neraing aistricts oT Faistunturl, Lansi-inari
2 body burdens of
137
Cs were dd
2ased.
¢
The rate of increase or decrease in the We. body burden of the Lapps
depends on the amount of reindeer meat consumed and on changes in the
AAP ame
13766 level of reindeer meat. According to an interview carried out
during the whole body-counting measurements there has been in the
winter of 1976-77 no Significant change in consumption of reindeer
meat compared to the consumption during the previous winter. The 13764
content of reindeer muscle in 1976 and 1977 are given in Table 3.
The herding district where the animal has been slaughtered is also
137
indicated in the Table. The average
Cs concentration in reindeer
meat was 17.2 and 17.8 nCi/kg fresh wt. in 1976 and in 1977, respectively.
137
Thus no significant change has taken place in the
Cs content of
reindeer meat. The number of reindeer muscle samples analyzed has not
been sufficient to find any regional differences in the '37¢¢ level,
However, the low
“Te content of reindeer muscle samples collected
in the herding district of Paistunturi in 1977 seems to be in agreement
with the decrease of the "376. body burden in the Lapps of this district.
Two reasons can be mentioned
which may bring about regional decrease
in the 13764 body burden of the Lapps. In some reindeer herding
districts the Lapps are forced during winter to feed reindeer on hay
with significantly lower "376, content than that of lichen. Another
possible reason is that the Lapps of some herding districts consume
during the winter period exceptionally large amounts of tissues of
reindeer slaughtered in fall. The reindeer of a herding district are.
gathered for counting and slaughtering in fall, when the 137¢¢ content
of reindeer meat due to the summer diet is low. Reindeer do
not
feed on lichen during the summer period. In addition the biological
half-time of 137, in muscle of reindeer is only 27 d (3,4). Consequently,
the 1370, content of reindeer meat at the end of summer can be only
10-20% of the content in spring.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This investigation was supportei by Contract No CH E{11-1)-3011 from:
the US ERDA.