Availability of Fallout Cs137 to Dairy Cattle from Different Types of Feed

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Abstract
The metabolism of fallout Cs137 contained in dairy cattle feeds was studied with high-producing dairy cows. The transfer coefficient (Cs137 secreted daily/liter of milk as a percentage of total daily Cs137 intake) for individual cows ranged from 0.25 to 0.72 and was found to be closely related to the crude fiber content of the diet. The correlation coefficient between transfer coefficient and crude fiber intake for 5 cows was - 0.66. The average percentage of dietary Cs137 found in the milk, urine, and feces of 3 cows was 7.4, 13.5, and 81.5. Reports from the literature utilizing tracer doses of radioactive cesium have found about 1.0% of the doses per liter of milk and approximately equal amounts excreted in urine and feces. The results reported here suggest that fallout Cs137 in dairy cattle feeds is considerably less available than suggested by studies with tracers.

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