Evaluation of doses of beta-irradiation of the thyroid gland of cows according to the gama-background in the area of its location

«Radiation and Risk», 2025, vol. 34, No. 2, pp.122-132

DOI: 10.21870/0131-3878-2025-34-2-122-132

Authors

Sarukhanov V.Ya. – Main Expert, C. Sc., Biol. Contacts: 1, Kievskoe sh., Obninsk, Kaluga region, Russia, 249032. Tel.: +7 (484) 396-48-02; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Snegirev A.S. – Jun. Researcher, C. Sc., Biol.
Epimakhov V.G. – Sen. Researcher, C. Sc., Biol. NRC “Kurchatov Institute” – RIRAE.
Russian Institute of Radiology and Agroecology of National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, Obninsk

Abstract

When ¹³¹I enters the body, it accumulates in the thyroid gland of animals, leading to degeneration of its parenchyma. The degree of damage depends on the dose of beta-radiation. The beta-radiation dose can be estimated based on the activity of incorporated ¹³¹I using either appropriate mathematical models or the formula by Marks et al. The experience of eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident has shown that veterinary specialists in the initial period could only measure the radiation background on the ground and in the thyroid gland of animals. The aim of this study was to estimate the dose of beta-radiation to the thyroid gland of cows from ¹³¹I based on the level of gama-radiation in the thyroid region. The activity of ¹³¹I was calculated from the intensity of gama-radiation in the thyroid gland area. Based on the dependence between the beta-radiation dose to the thyroid gland of cows and the beta-radiation intensity in its region, calculated using the model and for-mula, an average proportionality coefficient (K=0.4) was determined. At beta-radiation doses to the thyroid gland of up to 30 Gy, animals can be used without restrictions. At doses of 100 Gy or higher, animals must be slaughtered within 45-60 days after veterinary procedures aimed at reducing ¹³¹Cs levels in the body. For doses of up to 100 Gy, animals require regular veterinary monitoring. Absorbed beta-radiation doses of 30, 60, and 100 Gy correspond to gama-radiation dose rates of 75, 150, and 250 mR/h in the thyroid region, respectively. The beta-radiation dose significantly depends on the morphometric characteristics of the thyroid gland, which are influenced by the breed, age, productivity of the animals, and the season. Therefore, the calculated beta-radiation doses are approximate, and the calculation method is applicable only to adult animals.

Key words
cows, ¹³¹I, beta-irradiation, thyroid gland, gama-background, hypothyroidism, veterinary sorting of animals, radiobiology, environmental protection.

References

1. Grechushkina M.P. Tables of composition of products of instantaneous fission of 235U, 238U, and 239Pu. Moscow, Atomizdat, 1964. 67 p. (In Russian).

2. Buldakov L.A., Panchenko I.Yа., Burov N.I., Bogatov L.V., Sirotkin A.N., Shilov V.P. Permissible doses of exposure of cows to nuclear fission products. Selskokhozyaistvennaya biologiya – Agricultural Biology, 1973, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 878-883. (In Russian).

3. Izrael Yu.A. Radioactive fallout after nuclear explosions and accidents. St.-Peterburg, Progress-pogoda, 1996. 355 p. (In Russian).

4. Annenkov B.N. Radiation disasters: consequences and countermeasures in agriculture. Moscow, San-epidmedia, 2008. 371 p. (In Russian).

5. Kondrahin I.P. Endocrine allergic and autoimmune diseases of animals: a handbook. Moscow, Kolos, 2007. 251 p. (In Russian).

6. Bogatov L.V., Burov N.I., Antonenko G.I. Remote consequences of a single intake of iodine-131 by cattle. Proceedings III All-Union Conference “Kinetics of metabolism, biological action of radioactive isotopes of iodine”. Moscow, 1989, pp. 100-108. (In Russian).

7. Sarukhanov V.Ya., Isamov N.N. Natural resistance and pathology of the thyroid gland in cattle after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Selskokhozyaistvennaya biologiya – Agricultural Biology, 2010, vol. 45, no. 6, pp. 104-107. (In Russian).

8. Isamov N.N., Kozmin G.V., Kruglikov B.P., Ivanov V.L., Grudin N.S., Shevchenko A.S., Grudina N.V., Ulyanenko L.N., Saruhanov V.YA., Sarapultcev I.A., Shevchenko T.S., Eliseeva I.V. The condition and productivity of farm animals in the northern part of the Chernobyl region. Radiatsija i risk – Radiation and Risk, 1997, no. 9, pp. 48-52. (In Russian).

9. Marks S., Seigneur L.J., Hackett P.L., Marrrow R.J., Horstman V.G., Bustad L.K. Effects of the admi-nistration of single doses of lodine-131 to sheep of various ages. Am. J. Vet. Res., 1962, vol. 23, pp. 725-730.

10. Snegirev A.S. Radioactive particles in the food chain of ruminant farm animals: transport in the digestive tract and metabolism of radionuclides using 131I as an example: autoref. cand. sci. biol. Obninsk, 2023. 24 p. (In Russian).

11. Gusev N.G., Mashkovich N.N. Gamma constant of a radioactive nuclide in the International System of Units. Atomnaya energiya – Atomic Energy, 1980, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 330-332. (In Russian).

12. Kozlov V.F. Handbook of radiation safety. 4th ed. Moscow, Energoatomizdat, 1991. 353 p. (In Russian).

13. Fedotov D.N. Morphology of the thyroid gland of newborn calves. Uchenye zapisk9i UO VGAVAScientific Notes of the UO VGAVM, 2015, vol. 51, no. 1, part 1, pp. 147-149. (In Russian).

14. Popesco P.Р. Atlas of topographic anatomy of farm animals. Vol. 1. Head and neck. Bratislava, Priroda, 1974. 215 p. (In Russian).

15. Budarkov V.A., Zenkin A.S., Arkhipov N.I., Yunusov R.M., Mayakov E.A., Amirkhanyan A.R., Prilepskaya E.P., Surgucheva L.M. The effect of iodine-131 on sheep depending on the content of stable iodine in the diet. Radiobiologiya – Radiobiology, 1992, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 451-458. (In Russian).

16. Trush N.V., Kleikova D.A. Pedigree and seasonal morphofunctional features of the thyroid gland of cattle of the Amur region. Agrarnyi vestnik Urala – Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals, 2009, no. 5(59), pp. 77-78. (In Russian).

Full-text article (in Russian)