Concentration of selected radionuclides in skulls of European badger Meles meles from eastern Poland

Authors: ANDRZEJ KOMOSA, IGNACY KITOWSKI, JOLANTA ORZEL, GRZEGORZ PITUCHA, JAN SOLECKI, MARCIN CHRAPOWICKI, PAWEL ROZANSKI, MARIAN FLIS

Abstract: Concentration activity levels of selected radionuclides in skulls of European badger from eastern Poland were determined. It was found that studied skull bones contained on average 1.6 ± 1.7 Bq kg^-1 of ¹³⁷Cs (range: 0-6.4 Bq kg^-1), 2.2 ± 0.87 Bq kg^-1 of ⁹⁰Sr (range: 0.93-3.9 Bq kg^-1), and 8.4 ± 4.1 Bq kg^-1 of ^239+240Pu (range: 0-53 Bq kg^-1). These values prove to be rather low in comparison with earlier literature data on anthropogenic radionuclides (being a result of the Chernobyl fallout) present in skulls of other mammals. This suggests that migration processes of anthropogenic radionuclides have caused a diminishing of contamination in the upper layer of soil.

Keywords: Anthropogenic radionuclide, skull bone, European badger, eastern Poland

Full Text: PDF