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Samples of summer pasture plants that reindeer feed on were collected in order to study (137)Cs concentrations in different plant species and in species nested in certain site types, and to study the regional distribution of (137)Cs in the Finnish reindeer management area. Plant species were categorized by the site types of mineral soil forest (xeric heath forest and mesic heath forest) and peatland. A third category called 'other plant species' included plants with various site types, poorly determined species and species with poor statistics. The (137)Cs concentrations in different site types differed significantly. The mean (137)Cs concentrations of the whole reindeer management area in the xeric heath forest plant species was 44 ± 27 Bq/kg dw, in the mesic heath forest plant species 75 ± 59 Bq/kg dw and in the peatland plant species 219 ± 150 Bq/kg dw. The peatland species uptake (137)Cs more efficiently than plant species of mineral soil forests. A particularly efficient collector of (137)Cs was Trichophorum sp. It is suggested that Trichophorum sp. could be used as an indicator species for reindeer summer fodder plants. The highest concentrations of (137)Cs were found in Southern Lapland and the lowest in Northern Lapland. Today, the concentrations of (137)Cs in summer pasture plants that reindeer feed on in Finland are at such a level that there is no need to avoid any plant species. In the case of future nuclear fallout, reindeer grazing in peatlands would increase concentrations of (137)Cs in reindeer meat., (2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Monitoring of 137Cs in reindeer herders and in reindeer meat in Finnish Lapland began in the early 1960s and has continued until today. The monitoring of 137Cs in reindeer herders and in reindeer meat in the Halla area began after the Chernobyl accident. In this study, reindeer herders together with reindeer meat samples were monitored for gamma-emitting radionuclides from two separate areas in the Finnish reindeer management area, Northern Finland and the Halla area. The effective half-lives determined for 137Cs in reindeer meat were from 3.0 ± 1.7 to 5.1 ± 0.5 y. For 134Cs, the observed effective half-lives in reindeer meat were from 1.3 ± 0.2 to 1.5 ± 0.1 y. The effective half-lives among male and female reindeer herders in Northern Finland were 5.5 ± 1.3 and 4.4 ± 0.9 y, respectively, for the body-burden of 137Cs. In the Halla reindeer herding cooperative, located to the south of Finnish Lapland in the province of Kuusamo, the effective half-lives in the reindeer herders were shorter, about 1-2 y. The 134Cs × 137Cs-1 ratios decreased more rapidly in reindeer meat and also in humans in the Halla area than in Northern Finland. This implies faster removal of Chernobyl-derived cesium from the reindeer-man food chain in the Halla area. The contribution of Chernobyl fallout (percent) in reindeer meat was 70% and 80% in the Paistunturi and Ivalo cooperatives, respectively, and 50% and 80% in the western and eastern part of Halla cooperative, respectively. In humans, the contribution of Chernobyl fallout to 137Cs in whole-body content was 60% in Northern Finland and 80% in the Halla area. The mean committed effective doses of Cs for reindeer herders in Finnish Lapland decreased from 0.36 mSv y-1 in 1987 to 0.053 mSv y-1 in 2005.

Two types of radioactive particle were identified in marine sediment and lichen samples collected from the Kola Bay, NW Russia. The particles were identified by means of gamma-ray spectrometry and autoradiography, separated and subjected to various analysis techniques. Several complementary techniques are needed to characterise particle properties thoroughly. 137Cs was present in the sediment matrix in large (approximately 100 microns) greenish particles that were most probably pieces of paint. Although their element composition was heterogeneous, 137Cs was found to be evenly distributed. 60Co in the lichen matrix was present in small (approximately 1 micron) particles. No U or transuranium elements were detected in either type of particle.

Objective: To assess the validity of a national vascular registry., Materials and Methods: 17,465 vascular and endovascular procedures, immediate reoperations excluded, registered in the Finnvasc registry from 26 centres during the years 1991-1994., Chief Outcome Measures: Comparison of the number of registered procedures with hospital records, comparison of initial registrations with a random sample of re-registration and comparison of the 1-year local data input of one major centre to the same data input of the central unit., Results: The rate of missing registrations was 19% ranging from 0-47%. The data of the re-registered forms were in agreement with the original data in 93% of all data points, the range being from 81-100%. There was a difference of 1.5% in the data between the major centre and the central unit., Conclusions: The Finnvasc registry makes it possible to audit vascular surgery nationally, although a potential limitation is centres with low registration rates.

Radionuclides, especially the long-lived 137Cs (physical half-life 30 years), are accumulated efficiently in the northern, subarctic, lichen-reindeer-man foodchain. Until the Chernobyl accident the fallout nuclides studied originated from nuclear weapons tests. After this accident some fresh fallout was deposited in Finnish Lapland. Lichens grow very slowly and collect nutrients very efficiently from air, rain and snow. During winter the basic fodder plants for reindeer are lichens and some winter-green plants, shrubs and dry leaves. During the bare-ground season, the reindeer eat various grasses, herbs and leaves etc. Lichens constitute 30-50 per cent of the entire vegetable mass consumed by the reindeer in a year. The highest 137Cs-concentration 2500 Bq/kg dry weight was found in lichen in the middle of the 1960s. In 1985 the concentration had decreased to about 240 Bq/kg dry weight. After the Chernobyl accident the 137Cs-concentration in lichen varied from 200 to 2000 Bq/kg dry weight in Finnish Lapland. In reindeer fodder plant samples collected in the 1980s before the Chernobyl accident the 137Cs-concentration varied from 5 to 970 Bq/kg dry weight. The highest 137Cs-concentration in reindeer meat, about 2500 Bq/kg fresh weight, was found in 1965 and thereafter decreased to about 300 Bq/kg fresh weight in the winter before the Chernobyl accident. After the accident the mean 137Cs-concentration in reindeer meat from the 1986-87 slaughtering period was 720 Bq/kg fresh weight and in 1987-88, 630 Bq/kg fresh weight.