Radioecological characteristics of Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus Pal., 1771) inhabiting locations of nuclear weapon tests

This paper reports the activity concentrations of 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 239+240 Pu, 241 Am, and 3 Н in the form of tritiated water (НТО) and organically bound tritium (ОBТ) in the tissues and organs of roe deer ( Capreolus pygargus Pal., 1771) that inhabit the ‘Degelen’ test location of the Semipalatinsk Test Site. Tissues and organs were sampled from six deer by killing. The activity concentrations of specific radionuclides in the samples were measured using γ-, α-, and β-spectrometry. The radionuclide activity concentrations in the tissues and organs showed considerable variation, for example, 0.6–170 Bq kg -1 for 137 Cs and 0.3–2.8×10 3 Bq kg -1 for 90 Sr. The activity concentrations of radionuclides in animal muscular tissue did not exceed permissible values for the meat of wild animals. The tissues and organs in the roe deer were arranged as follows in descending order of their ability to accumulate 137 Cs and 90 Sr: for 137 Cs, muscular tissue–kidneys–lungs–spleen–heart–liver–bone tissue; for 90 Sr, bone tissue–liver–lungs–muscular tissue–spleen–heart–kidneys. The activity concentrations of 241 Am and 239+240 Pu did not exceed the minimum detectable activity. Therefore, no quantitative values could be determined for 241 Am, and the 239+240 Pu activity concentration could be derived for only one sample: 0.5±0.1 Bq kg -1 (liver). The distribution pattern of these radionuclides in the tissues and organs of the roe deer could not be determined because of insufficient data. The HTO volumetric activity in the tissues and organs of the examined animals ranged from 2.6×10 −2 to 77 kBq l -1 ; activity concentration of OBT, 3.0×10 −2 to 16 kBq kg -1 ; and OBT-to-HTO ratios, 2.0×10 −3 to 5.3×10 2 . This ratio can serve as an indicator of how long the examined animals stay in radioactively contaminated ecosystems. Within the ‘Degelen’ site, the activity concentrations of 90 Sr and tritium, in the form of HTO and OBT, are expected to be high in the bone tissues, soft tissues, and organs, respectively.