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 Certain
areas of the INEEL are open to grazing under lease agreements managed by
the Bureau of Land Management. Every
year ESER Program personnel collect samples of sheep that have grazed on
these leased areas, either just before or shortly after the sheep leave
the INEEL. This occurs
during the second quarter of the year.
For the calendar year 2001, sheep were collected from the
selected INEEL allotments before they were moved off site.
Three flocks were sampled, including a control flock in Dubois
from the Experimental Sheep Station, a flock from a southern INEEL
allotment, and a flock from a northern INEEL allotment.
Two sheep were taken from each flock and sampled.
Thyroid, muscle, and liver tissue were collected and analyzed for
gamma emitting radionuclides.
Levels
of 131I
are of particular interest in thyroids because of this organ's ability
to accumulate iodine. No 131I
was found in any of the samples.
Analysis
for 137Cs
showed results greater than 2s in three
samples from two separate sheep: one muscle and one liver sample collected from the same lamb
on the Northern allotment on May 18, and one muscle sample collected May
9, from a lamb on the Southern allotment.
All concentrations of 137Cs were similar to those
found in both onsite and offsite sheep samples during recent years.
Data for all sheep samples are listed in Appendix
C, Table C-10.
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