septième réunion technique seventh technical meeting ... - IUCN

is in the order of 1 ½ days. After an accident it is, however,
necessary to assume that cattle may graze for a period on herbage
which was initially contamined to the same extent. In Table 2
approximate values are given for this set of circumstances; the
concentration in milk for each isotope is taken as 1 on the first
day (3).
TABLE 2
Relative concentrations of Iodine 131 and Strontium 89 in milk on successive days
assuming that animals continuously consume herbage which was contaminated
to a constant level on Day 1
Day
Iodine 131
Arbitary Units
Strontium 89
1
2
3
4
5
6
1.0
1.5
1.7
1.8
1.8
1.8
1
4
7
9
10
10
The time interval between the deposition of radioactivity and the
attaining of the maximum level in milk aids greatly in protecting the
population. The advantage of this was apparent after the Windscale
accident (4). Judged in term of economic loss this was a
major disaster; the equipment ruined was valued in millions of pounds.
Accidents of conventional types which involve vastly lesser losses
can frequently result in human injury or loss of life. No such effects,
however, followed the Windscale accident. This justifies the conclusion
that the hazards of the Atomic Age are in large measure
susceptible to control. This statement, however, is only true if
detailed plans are made for the coordinated action of many types
of specialists, medical radiobiologists, agriculturalists, physicists, and
radiochemists.
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