The transfer of Ag-110m to sheep tissues

The transfer of Ag-110m from the Chernobyl fallout to sheep tissues is discussed. Ag-110m was only detected in the liver and occasionally the brain of the sheep analysed. The transfer of Ag-110m associated with perennial rye-grass, harvested soon after deposition in 1986, was greater to the liver of both ewes and lambs than that of Cs-137. Transfer coefficients of Ag-110m for lamb liver exceeded those for ewe livers. However, in a 1987 field study there was no difference between transfer coefficients of Ag-110m for ewes and lambs. It is suggested that there is a slow turnover of Ag-110m in the liver of sheep and that unlike radiocaesium, Ag-110m from the Chernobyl fallout did not become more available once incorporated into plant tissues.