Re: the article about the contaminated fawn at Brookhaven lab

[SAFarberMSPH@CS.COM]

In a message dated 2/21/02 5:00:48 PM Pacific Standard Time, neildm@ID.DOE.GOV writes:



> Cs137 is widespread in soil, a legacy of atmospheric testing (fallout).  Including your back yard. :-)  Plants take it up as a calcium mimic.



Just to provide a correctionn to above error.  Plants take Cs-137 up as a potassium analog. As I've mentioned in an earlier post on this BNL fawn story, Cs and K are chemical congeners being in the same family on the periodic table. 


Interestingly fallout Cs-137 from weapon's testing or Chernobyl deposited as as carrier free Cs-137. Studies of forests in Belgium after the Chernobyl accident showed Cs-137 was actively absorbed by trees directly through the leaves, since trees have mechanisms to absorb potassium from the air and in the trees "thirst" for potassium absorbed Cs-137 in its place.


Stewart Farber

Public Health Scientist

email: SAFarberMSPH@cs.com