Body burden and excretion of Cs-137 and 40K in subjects from the South of Sweden

The equivalent biological half-times, T-e, of Cs-137 and K-40 in a South-Sw edish urban population have been determined through whole-body measurements and urinary excretion analysis. The T-e - values for Cs-137 found in males were on average, significantly lower than what is given in the literature. The relatively low average whole-body content of K-40, Q(K), the males cou ld explain the discrepancy, taking into consideration that a positive corre lation between the T-e and Q(K) has been suggested in an earlier work. Furt hermore, the potassium-normalized caesium urinary excretion was determined for the subjects in the study, and values were found to be in accordance wi th earlier results. A literature study of previous experimental data on the potassium-normalized caesium excretion however raises some questions about its applicability as a method for estimating the whole-body burden of Cs-1 37 through urine analysis. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.