Dynamics of radionuclide concentrations in calcified tissues of reindeer in the western Russian Arctic

Abstract

The specific activities of artificial and natural nuclides were determined in bone and teeth of reindeer that had lived before, during, and after nuclear tests on the Archipelago Novaya Zemlya and of reindeer from the nearby mainland region. In bone of reindeer from Novaya Zemlya, 90Sr and 210Pb are the main source of beta-activity, the 210Po is the main source of the alpha activity. In bone of reindeer that lived on Novaya Zemlya during underground tests, the 90Sr activity was relatively high (0.75 ± 0.20 Bq/g dry weight). In animals that lived after the tests were banned, the level was significantly lower (0.44 ± 0.17 Bq/g) and did not differ from the level of the 90Sr activity found in the mainland reindeer bone. On Novaya Zemlya, the concentrations of the natural 210Pb in bone of the recent reindeer (0.57 ± 0.19 Bq/g) is similar to that which was in the teeth of reindeer a hundred years ago (0.65 – 0.75 Bq/g) and significantly higher than in the recent mainland reindeer from different regions (0.18 – 0.17 Bq/g).