INTERNAL DEPOSITION OF RADIONUCLIDES
but those from a given hen were of uniform
weight. In 14 eggs studied, the shell and membranes weighed an average of 13.6 percent of
the whole egg weight, and the ashed shell
weighed 6.8 percent of the whole egg weight.
These values are within the normal range for
egos of domestic hens.
The gross beta and gammaactivities of the
shell, albumen and yolk were measured in the
first 50 eges obtained, and the gammaactivity
of the shel! was measured in the remainder of
the eggs. An increasing amount of gamma activity appeared in the shells of the first few
eggs laid by each hen. The maximum gamma
activity was usually noted in about the eighth
egg laid. After the activity reached a maximin Value, the subsequent eggs in the series
showed a general decline in activity. Two examples of this phenomenon are illustrated in
Figure 5.6.
The highest gammaactivity found in a single egg shell was 66,300 counts per minute,
measured at 60 days post detonation. For a
gammaenergyof approximately 1 mev, this figure corresponds to 0.0Tye. The yolks andalbumens had muchless activity than the shells,
as Was anticipated. The average distribution
of gammaactivity in the eggs is given in Table
5.11. Theresults of the radiochemical analysis
of two eggs are presented in Table 5.12.
The alkaline earths are the principal fission
products deposited in the shell. In the albumen
and yolk, the beta activity contributed by the
alkaline earths was only a little greater than
that associated with the rare earths.
The pattern of deposition of the radioactivity
within the eg was also studied by means of
autoradiographs. A series of 50 eggs were
hard boiled, sectioned, and autoradiographs
were prepared of the cut surfaces. Only four
of the yolks of these 50 eggs were sufficiently
radioactive to produce autoradiographs (see
Fig. 5.7). These + eggs were laid on successive days by the same hen. There is a correlation between the rings of radioactivity in the
yolk andthose of pigment.
The amount of activity removed from the
body of the chicken through egg laying is very
Ue
oi
co
C=
owas 4
381712 O—56—_7
89
Table 5.11.—Distribution of Gamma Activity in
Chicken Eggs
PERCENT OF
PERCENT OF
Tota GaMMa! Tota. BETA
ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY
Shells_.-._-.--..-_-_.-____Yolks_.__.__-.-_-_.___.
Albumen. __.___.______-
81
15
4
|
68
23
8
Table 5.12.—Radiochemical Analysis of Chicken
Eggs
Beta
SAMPLE
Activity, D/M/ToTaL TIssvE
Montus Post DETONATION
Sri
Egg No. 27
Yolk____Albumen-_
355
52
Bale
546
92
Rake
EARTHS
663
90
aT 4
Gross Beta
ACTIVITY
1, 560
260
Shell... -
18, 080
3,520
6,060
30, 000
Yolk. ._
Albumen_
Shell_____
315
45
22, 300
825
132
4,900
997
132
7, 830
2, 178
316
38, 000
Egg No. 29
much greater than the amount excreted in the
urine and feces during the period of this study.
Iigg production in the chicken represents a
unique forin of natural decontamination.
5.46
Fertility and
Chickens
Hatchability
Studies
in
Fertility studies on the contaminated chickens were begun 314 months post detonation,
with the mating of hens and roosters and the incubation of the eggs obtained. In the first
clutch of 20 eggs, 4 were hatched. One of the
chicks had the crippling slipped-tendon condition, “congenital perosis,” which is not uncommon. Radioanalysis of the chick tissues ind1cated that only a barely detectable amount of
radioactive material was transferred to the
chick, although the mother hen had at this time
an appreciable contamination.
In another hatch six months post detonation,
65 eggs were incubated. Of these, 28 were in-