TY - JOUR
T1 - Transition of radioactive cesium deposition in reproductive organs of free-roaming cats in namie town, fukushima
AU - Fujishima, Yohei
AU - Kino, Yasushi
AU - Ono, Takumi
AU - Goh, Valerie Swee Ting
AU - Nakata, Akifumi
AU - Ariyoshi, Kentaro
AU - Kasai, Kosuke
AU - Toyoda, Tadashi
AU - Akama, Toru
AU - Tazoe, Hirofumi
AU - Yamada, Masatoshi
AU - Yoshida, Mitsuaki A.
AU - Miura, Tomisato
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported in part by the Environmental Radioactivity Research Network Center (F-19-31).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/2/2
Y1 - 2021/2/2
N2 - We investigated the internal contamination by radioactive cesium associated with the FDNPP accident, in the testes or uterus and ovaries of free-roaming cats (Felis silvestris catus), which were protected by volunteers in the Namie Town, Fukushima. A total of 253 samples (145 testes and 108 uterus and ovaries) obtained from adult cats and 15 fetuses from 3 pregnant female cats were measured. Free-roaming cats in Namie Town had a higher level of radioactive contamination in comparison to the control group in Tokyo, as the134Cs +137Cs activity concentration ranged from not detectable to 37,882 Bq kg–1 in adult cats. Furthermore, the radioactivity in the fetuses was al-most comparable to those in their mother’s uterus and ovaries. The radioactivity was also different between several cats protected in the same location, and there was no significant correlation with ambient dose-rates and activity concentrations in soil. Moreover, radioactive cesium levels in cats decreased with each year. Therefore, it is likely that decontamination work in Namie Town and its surroundings could affect radioactive cesium accumulation, and thus possibly reduce the internal radiation exposure of wildlife living in contaminated areas. It is hence necessary to continue radioactivity monitoring efforts for the residents living in Namie Town.
AB - We investigated the internal contamination by radioactive cesium associated with the FDNPP accident, in the testes or uterus and ovaries of free-roaming cats (Felis silvestris catus), which were protected by volunteers in the Namie Town, Fukushima. A total of 253 samples (145 testes and 108 uterus and ovaries) obtained from adult cats and 15 fetuses from 3 pregnant female cats were measured. Free-roaming cats in Namie Town had a higher level of radioactive contamination in comparison to the control group in Tokyo, as the134Cs +137Cs activity concentration ranged from not detectable to 37,882 Bq kg–1 in adult cats. Furthermore, the radioactivity in the fetuses was al-most comparable to those in their mother’s uterus and ovaries. The radioactivity was also different between several cats protected in the same location, and there was no significant correlation with ambient dose-rates and activity concentrations in soil. Moreover, radioactive cesium levels in cats decreased with each year. Therefore, it is likely that decontamination work in Namie Town and its surroundings could affect radioactive cesium accumulation, and thus possibly reduce the internal radiation exposure of wildlife living in contaminated areas. It is hence necessary to continue radioactivity monitoring efforts for the residents living in Namie Town.
KW - Free-roaming cat
KW - Fukushima
KW - Internal contamination
KW - Radioactive cesium
KW - Reproductive organ
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18041772
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18041772
M3 - Article
C2 - 33670348
AN - SCOPUS:85100615481
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 4
M1 - 1772
ER -
