CS-137 TRANSFER AFTER CHERNOBYL FROM FODDER INTO CHICKEN MEAT AND EGGS

The distribution and the biological half-lives of Cs-137 in poultry af ter continuous intake of foodstuffs contaminated by the Chernobyl fall out were studied in order to determine transfer coefficients to yolk, albumen, and shell of eggs as well as transfer coefficients to chicken meat. Mean values for laying hens were found to be 0.2 d kg-1 (whole consumable egg), 1.2 d kg-1 (leg meat), and 1.6 d kg-1 (breast meat) w hen radiocesium was fed in contaminated grass pellets, and about twice as large [i.e., 0.4 d kg-1 (whole consumable egg), 2.8 d kg-1 (leg me at), and 3.0 d kg-1 (breast meat)] when radiocesium was fed in contami nated wheat. Reducing effects of the feed additive ammonium-ferric-cya no-ferrate in concentrations of 0.66 g kg-1 of feed mixture on the con tamination of hen products were quantified to be a factor of 3 to 4 (w hole consumable egg and meat after grass pellet feeding) and 8 to 14 ( whole consumable egg and meat after wheat feeding). A drastically high er reduction with an ammonium-ferric-cyano-ferrate dose twice as large (1.33 g kg-1) was achieved. For broiler chickens, activity concentrat ion ratios of meat to feed were derived for various fattening periods, with mean values of about 0.3 (leg), 0.4 (breast), and 0.2 (liver). T he addition of ammonium-ferric-cyano-ferrate reduced the activity conc entrations in meat by factors of more than 6.