Radioactive contamination in feral dogs in the Chernobyl exclusion zone: Population body-burden survey and implications for human radiation exposure

This report describes a two-year effort to survey the internal 137 Cs and external β -emitter contamination present in the feral dog population near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) site, and to understand the potential for human radiation exposure from this contamination. This work was per...

Celý popis

Uloženo v:

Podrobná bibliografie
Vydáno v:	PloS one Ročník 18; číslo 7; s. e0283206
Hlavní autoři:	Hecla, Jake, Kambarian, Erik, Tubbs, Robert, McKinley, Carla, Berliner, Aaron J., Russell, Kayla, Spatola, Gabrielle, Chertok, Jordan, Braun, Weston, Hank, Natalia, Marquette, Courtney, Betz, Jennifer, Paik, Terry, Chenery, Marie, Cagan, Alex, Willis, Carl, Mousseau, Tim
Médium:	Journal Article
Jazyk:	angličtina
Vydáno:	United States Public Library of Science 20.07.2023
Témata:	Animal welfare Animals Behavior Biology and Life Sciences Cesium 137 Cesium isotopes Cesium radioisotopes Contamination Dogs Emitters Exclusion zones Feral dogs Feral populations Food contamination Gamma rays Health aspects Health risks Invasions Medicine and Health Sciences Nuclear accidents Nuclear energy Nuclear power plants Nuclear reactors Nuclear safety Observations Physical Sciences Polls & surveys Pollution surveys Prey Prey selection Radiation Radiation effects Radioactive contamination Radioactive pollution Radioactivity Radioisotopes Research and analysis methods Sensors Surveys Ukraine
ISSN:	1932-6203, 1932-6203
On-line přístup:	Získat plný text
Tagy:	Přidat tag Žádné tagy, Buďte první, kdo vytvoří štítek k tomuto záznamu!

Popis
Shrnutí:	This report describes a two-year effort to survey the internal 137 Cs and external β -emitter contamination present in the feral dog population near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) site, and to understand the potential for human radiation exposure from this contamination. This work was performed as an integral part of the radiation safety and control procedures of an animal welfare oriented trap-neuter-release (TNR) program. The measurement program focused on external contamination surveys using handheld β -sensitive probes, and internal contamination studies using a simple whole-body counter. Internal 137 Cs burden was measured non-invasively during post-surgical observation and recovery. External β contamination surveys performed during intake showed that 21/288 animals had significant, removable external contamination, though not enough to pose a large hazard for incidental contact. Measurements with the whole-body counter indicated internal 137 Cs body burdens ranging from undetectable (minimum detection level ∼100 Bq/kg in 2017, ∼30 Bq/kg in 2018) to approximately 30,000 Bq/kg. A total of 33 animals had 137 Cs body-burdens above 1 kBq/kg, though none posed an external exposure hazard. The large variation in the 137 Cs concentration in these animals is not well-understood, could be due to prey selection, access to human food scraps, or extended residence in highly contaminated areas. The small minority of animals with external contamination may pose a contamination risk allowing exposures in excess of regulatory standards.
Bibliografie:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 Competing Interests: RT was employed by the company Tubbs Nuclear Consulting (and likewise volunteered his time). The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0283206