Radiation biology. Radioecology
ISSN: 0869-8031

Archives → 2018 → Vol. 58, No. 2 → pp. 166-173

Article

Activity Concentration of ¹³⁷CS, ²³⁸PU, ^239+240PU and ²⁴¹AM in Feces of Wild Hoofed Animals Inhabiting the Exclusion Zone of Chernobyl NPP

Nikitin A.N.¹, Shurankova O.A.¹, Cheshyk I.A.¹, Kalinichenko S.A.², Korol R.A.¹

¹ 'Institute of Radiobiology, National Academy of Sciences of Republic Belarus, Gomel, Belarus
² Polesye State Radiation Ecological Reserve, Khoiniki, Belarus

Abstract

Activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs and transuranic elements in feces of the wild boar and elk inhabiting the Polesie State Radiation-Ecological Reserve (Belarusian part of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP) are estimated, which allows drawing conclusions about the peculiar features of the radionuclide intake by the animals. It was found that the specific activity of ^239+240Pu in feces of the moose inhabiting the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl NPP is mainly in the range (top — bottom quartile) from 0 to 7.2 Bq/kg, ²³⁸Pu — from 0 to 2.8 Bq/kg, 241Am — from 0.4 to 35.3 Bq/kg, ¹³⁷Cs — 5.3 to 25.2 kBq/kg. The specific activity of ^{239 + 240}Pu in feces of the wild boar is predominantly in the range from 7.5 to 40.3 Bq/kg, ²³⁸Pu — from 2.7 to 16.5 Bq/kg, ²⁴¹Am — from 19.3 to 284.6 Bq/kg, ¹³⁷Cs — from 8.5 to 276.1 kBq/kg. The seasonal dynamics of the content of transuranic isotopes in feces of the elk is established. The absence of a statistically significant correlation between the activity concentration of radioisotopes in feces of the animals and specific activity of the soil at the site of sampling is shown.