90
EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION
fertile, 3 fertile ones were opened prematurely,
11 developed complete embryos but failed to
hatch, and 23 live chicks were hatched, one of
which had congenital perosis. The latter chick
and six normal ones were sacrificed and their
tissues radioanalyzed. Again, only barely detectable amounts of internally deposited activity were found. The remaining baby chicks
are being raised and observed for possible long
term effects. .At the present time all the chicks
are growing normally and are in good health.
Comparison of the fertility and hatchability
data of Rongelap hens with those from domestic
hens does not demonstrate any etfect of radiation on these phenomena.
5.47
Incernal
Radioactive
Scudies in Chickens
Decontamination
A study was undertaken to determine the
ability of both sodium EDTAand zirconium
citrate (15) to increase the excretion rate of
internally deposited fission products in the contauminated chickens. On the basis of previous
experience, i¢ was not expected that any appreciable decontamination could be effected at the
time of this experiment (4 months following
internal radioactive deposition).
The excretion rates of 8 chickens with large
bedy burdens of internal contaminants were
determined for a period of 4 days as the base
line for the study. Following this, two chickens
were injected daily I. P. with 75 mg. sodium
EDT.A for four days: two received injections
of TO mg. of zirconium citrate (15). and two
were injected with both zirconiumcitrate and
sodium EDTA. Two chickens were kept as
controls. The mean beta and gamma activity
excreted by these chickens was determined individually for each of the treatment days and
for 1 day following cessation of treatment:
Neither the zirconium citrate nor the sodium
EDTA alone was effective in increasing the
excretion rate as reflected by the beta activity
INensurements made. The combined administration of zirconiumcitrate and sodium EDTA,
however, doubled the excretion rate of the beta
activity.
No detectable change in the rate of
excretion of gamma activity was noted. The
excretion rate of fission products at this long
period post contamination wasless than 0.1 percent per 24 hours. Thus, the enhancement of
the excretion rate by the combination of zirconiumcitrate and sodium EDTAdid notsignificantly decrease the total body burden.
5.48
Summary
Studies of animals provided data on the
nature and distribution of the radioisotopes in
the tissues and the excreta. Over 90 percentof
the activity in the body of animals was localized
in the skeleton. The pattern of deposition of
the fission products in the skeleton seen in autoradiographs resembles that of the alkaline
earths. Morphological changes which were observed in some of the bones maybe theresult of
the exposure of the animal to external radiation,
although the effects of severe dietary changes
and other disense cannot be ruled out.
The alkaline earths Sr® and Ba'” and the
rare earth group together constituted 75 percent
of the gross beta activity in the pig at 82 days
post detonation,
The fish and clam had a much
lower concentration of the alkaline and rare
earths, and a body burden considerably higher
than that of the land animals.
The internal distribution of fission products
in the pig is probably representative of the distribution in human beings. .\n estimate of the
human body burden was derived from the data
on pigs.
Studies made on egg production of contaminated hens gave no evidence of any effect of
radiation. The rate of production and the eggs
produced were both normal. The extraordtnary ability of fowl to mobilize calciumin shell
formation resulted in the presence of very high
activity in the shells of the first few eggs. The
activity was associated with the fission products
of the alkaline earth group. A significant
amount of activity was found in the yolk, and
lesser amounts in the albumen. The remova
of activity from the body of chickens by egg
production provides an effective natural decontamination process.