Strontium-90 in unprocessed liquid milk in the Netherlands: uptake from soil and direct absorption by grass.

Abstract

Investigations into the strontium-90 content of milk show that the level of contamination is not only determined by total cumulative deposits in the soil, but also depends largely on the rate of fall-out, indicating that an important amount results from direct absorptton of recently deposited fall-out by the grass mat. Results are given for the years 1959 and 1960 for strontium-90 and 1960 for cerium-137. An equation is described for calculating the strontium-90 uptake from the soil and its feasibility is discussed. The effects of rain water on the strontium-90 levels are also discussed.