Effect of Natural Factors on Cesium137 Accumulation in the Bodies of Residents in Some Geographical Regions

The report contains results obtained at the first stage of an investigation intended to identify regions with high 137Cs content in the bodies of inhabitants due to stratospheric fallout; to establish distribution curves of accumulation levels of incidence of this isotope in various age groups of the population; and to determine the sources and characteristics of 137Cs migration to the human body. As a result of observations extending over three years, we determined a territory with an area of more than 100,000 km2where the 137Cs content in the human body ranges between 10−8and 10−7Ci/body. We observed no essential differences in the 137Cs concentration between children and adults. The main source of 137Cs in the diet is milk where concentrations of this isotope reach 2000 pCi/l. and to a lesser degree it is meat, vegetables and fish. Contamination of these foodstuffs is due to intensive migration of 137Cs from soil though its concentrations there do not usually exceed those observed in the flat country of middle latitudes in the Northern hemisphere. Increased 137Cs migration from soil probably results from the structure, mechanical, mineral and chemical composition and acidity of the soil. The constants of 137Cs transfer from soil to grass increase from 2.5 to 32.6 depending on the type and characteristics of the soil. The object of further investigations will be the mechanism and causality of the increased 137Cs migration from soil.