The Comparative Metabolism of Strontium, Calcium and Cesium in Deer and Sheep

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Six deer and six sheep were fed either alfalfa (calcium 0.97 per cent, calcium/phosphorous = 5.1) or a pelleted ration (calcium 0.68 per cent, calcium/phosphorus = 0.9) for 2 weeks prior to and 30 days following a single intraruminal injection of 85Sr + 47Ca + 137Cs. Weekly whole-body gamma spectrometry and post-sacrifice measurements on portions of skeleton, gastrointestinal tract, viscera, skin and muscle mass were performed. The observed ratio (OR) (85Sr/47Ca) total body or bone was 0.5 in sheep and deer fed pellets, while on alfalfa the OR was 0.4 for sheep and 0.3 for deer. The dietary calcium level was approximately inversely related to the per cent radionuclide uptake while the difference in OR appeared to be phosphate-dependent in both species. 137Cs was retained with an average biologic half period of 17 days in all animals.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: