Transfer of radiocaesium, plutonium and americium to sheep after ingestion of contaminated soil

A dual isotope method has been used to study the transfer of 137Cs, 239/240Pu and 241Am to sheep following ingestion of contaminated soil. Two soils were used; an alluvial gley contaminated by Sellafield discharges, and an organic soil, artificially contaminated in a lysimeter. Values of the true absorption coefficient of radiocaesium of 0.19 +/- 0.03 and 0.03 +/- 0.01 respectively were obtained for these soils. This implies an availability factor for soil-associated radiocaesium of up to about 20 pc compared to radiocaesium ingested in soluble form. The absorption of plutonium and americium was not significantly different for the two soils tested. Absorption of both plutonium and americium was in the range 10-5 - 10-4, with mean values of 7 x 10-5 and 4 x 10-5 obtained respectively. These values imply availability factors of around 10 pc, compared to the value of 5 x 10-4 recommended by ICRP for plutonium ingested in a comparatively available form. These results are compared with estimates of availability made using an in-vitro approach