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The Cesium-137 Content of Beef from Dairy and Feed-Lot Cattle

1965; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00004032-196502000-00003

1538-5159

Gerald M. Ward, James E. Johnson,

Radioactivity and Radon Measurements

Samples of meat were collected from producing dairy cows, dry cows, young calves and feed-lot fattened cattle and analyzed for 137Cs, potassium, fat and moisture. The diets, which were contaminated with varying levels of fallout 137Cs, were analyzed to estimate daily intake of the nuclide. The 137Cs levels per kg of edible meat leveled off at less than 1 per cent of the daily intake in mature dairy cattle, at 3 per cent in feed-lot cattle and at 15 per cent in calves. It is not clear whether differences are due to age or the diet of the animals. The ratio of activity meat/milk per kg ranged from 1.2 to 4.9. It is estimated that the average consumer will obtain more 137Cs from milk than beef, although under certain conditions the reverse could easily occur.