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.