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Effect of nuclear radiation on sheep

Caesium-137 is considered a health hazard because it can easily enter the food chain and be taken up by the body. Sheep grazing on upland grass especially in the summer months are likely in the worst-affected regions to build up levels of caesium-137 t

Scottish sheep farms finally free of Chernobyl fallout – Science, News – The Independent, By Kevin Rawlinson and Rachel Hovenden, 7 July”…….

The effect of radiation* Two factors led to the imposition of restrictions on the sale and movement of some flocks of sheep in Britain soon after the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which sent a radioactive plume over much of north-west Europe. First, heavy rain over the uplands of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England led to the radioactive elements in the plume being washed to the ground. Secondly, the poor, peaty soils of these upland areas meant that radioactive caesium-137 in the fallout cloud was taken up by plants rather than being locked safely away in the structure of the soil itself.
* Caesium-137 is considered a health hazard because it can easily enter the food chain and be taken up by the body. Sheep grazing on upland grass especially in the summer months are likely in the worst-affected regions to build up levels of caesium-137 that exceed the limit of 1,000 Becquerels per kilogram of sheep meat set by the European Commission in 1986…..

Scottish sheep farms finally free of Chernobyl fallout – Science, News – The Independent

July 9, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors