Transition of Radioactive Cesium Deposition in Reproductive Organs of Free-Roaming Cats in Namie Town, Fukushima

Yohei Fujishima, Yasushi Kino, Takumi Ono, Valerie Swee Ting Goh, Akifumi Nakata, Kentaro Ariyoshi, Kosuke Kasai, Tadashi Toyoda, Toru Akama, Hirofumi Tazoe, Masatoshi Yamada, Mitsuaki A. Yoshida and Tomisato Miura
Additional contact information
Yohei Fujishima: Department of Radiation Biology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan
Yasushi Kino: Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Science, 6-3 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
Takumi Ono: Department of Chemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Science, 6-3 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
Valerie Swee Ting Goh: Department of Bioscience and Laboratory Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Akifumi Nakata: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Hokkaido University of Science, Sapporo, 7-Jo 15-4-1 Maeda, Teine, Sapporo, Hokkaido 006-8590, Japan
Kentaro Ariyoshi: Integrated Center for Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University, 1 Hikariga-oka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Kosuke Kasai: Department of Bioscience and Laboratory Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Tadashi Toyoda: Toyoda Animal Hospital, 402-7 Kanairo, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima 964-0915, Japan
Toru Akama: Akama Industry Co., Ltd., 259-3 Babauchi, Kakura, Namie, Fukushima 979-1536, Japan
Hirofumi Tazoe: Department of International Cooperation and Collaborative Research, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki 036-8564, Japan
Masatoshi Yamada: Central Laboratory, Marine Ecology Research Institute, 300 Iwawada, Onjuku, Isumi, Chiba 299-5105, Japan
Mitsuaki A. Yoshida: Institute of Chromosome Life Science, 11-5-409, Fukuokachuo 2-Chome, Fujimino-shi, Saitama 356-0031, Japan
Tomisato Miura: Department of Risk Analysis and Biodosimetry, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: We investigated the internal contamination by radioactive cesium associated with the FDNPP accident, in the testes or uterus and ovaries of free-roaming cats ( Felis silvestris catus ), which were protected by volunteers in the Namie Town, Fukushima. A total of 253 samples (145 testes and 108 uterus and ovaries) obtained from adult cats and 15 fetuses from 3 pregnant female cats were measured. Free-roaming cats in Namie Town had a higher level of radioactive contamination in comparison to the control group in Tokyo, as the 134 Cs + 137 Cs activity concentration ranged from not detectable to 37,882 Bq kg ?1 in adult cats. Furthermore, the radioactivity in the fetuses was almost comparable to those in their mother’s uterus and ovaries. The radioactivity was also different between several cats protected in the same location, and there was no significant correlation with ambient dose-rates and activity concentrations in soil. Moreover, radioactive cesium levels in cats decreased with each year. Therefore, it is likely that decontamination work in Namie Town and its surroundings could affect radioactive cesium accumulation, and thus possibly reduce the internal radiation exposure of wildlife living in contaminated areas. It is hence necessary to continue radioactivity monitoring efforts for the residents living in Namie Town.

Keywords: Fukushima; free-roaming cat; radioactive cesium; reproductive organ; internal contamination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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