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Abstract

This paper describes an analysis of data from long-term monitoring (28 years) of 137Cs activity concentrations in muscle tissue from moose (Alces alces) harvested in east-central Sweden. Two data sets on activity concentrations in moose muscle samples from the adjacent municipalities of Heby (n = 3652; y 1986-2012) and Gavle (n = 11,511; y 1986-2008) were used. Geometric means of 137Cs activity concentrations in moose have declined from 700 Bq kg-1 in Heby and 1300 Bq kg-1 in Gavle during 1986-1989 to around 300 Bq kg-1 in Heby (2009-2012) and 700 Bq kg-1 in Gavle (2005-2008). Based on annual geometric mean values of 137Cs in the muscle samples, the effective ecological half-life of 137Cs was calculated to be 16 years in both Heby and Gavle. The average 137Cs activity concentrations in moose calves were 14 % higher in Heby and 18 % higher in Gavle compared to adults. No sex-specific difference in activity concentration was found. Mean aggregated transfer factors (Tag) from soil to moose muscle tissue were calculated at 0.016 m2 kg-1 (range 0.010-0.036) in the Heby area and 0.023 m2 kg-1 (range 0.013-0.035) in the Gavle area. Using GIS software, mean deposition within a 1.7 km radius around each killing spot for moose harvested in Heby was calculated, resulting in individual Tag values. On an individual level, this resulted in a minimum Tag of 0.001 m2 kg-1 and a maximum Tag of 0.104 m2 kg-1, distinctly reflecting the high variation of 137Cs concentrations in moose. The proportion of samples exceeding the national intervention limit of 1500 Bq kg-1 was 5 % in Heby and 25 % in Gavle during the study period.

Published in

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
2025, volume: 286, article number: 107696
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2025.107696

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/141876