Ядерна фізика та енергетика Nuclear Physics and Atomic Energy   ISSN: 1818-331X (Print), 2074-0565 (Online)   Publisher: Institute for Nuclear Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine   Languages: Ukrainian, English   Periodicity: 4 times per year   Open access peer reviewed journal

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V. Kashparov^1,*, S. Levchuk¹, Yu. Khomutinin¹, D. Kondratiuk², M. Zhurba¹, D. M. Holiaka<sup>1

1</sup> Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
² Drevlianskyi Nature Reserve, Narodychi, Ukraine

^*Corresponding author. E-mail address: kashparov@nubip.edu.ua

Abstract: The influence of different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 and 1 %) of potassium ferric hexacyanoferrate (KFCF - KFe[Fe(CN)₆]) in the feed on the intake and excretion of ¹³⁷Cs the body of silver Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) was studied in laboratory aquarium experiments at a water temperature of 24 ± 2 °C. Industrial feed for carp fish containing 30 % protein, 10 % fat, 3 % fiber, and vitamins A, D3, E, and C from the company "Scalaria" with a granule size of 3 mm was used as a base for the production of feed with different KFCF contents. Every day at 3 p.m., six fish with a total mass of about 120 g in each of six aquariums consumed 1 g of feed with 0 - 1 % KFCF, which corresponds to the consumption of 0.8 - 80 mg KFCF per 1 kg of live weight of fish. Chronic intake of ¹³⁷Cs in fish was carried out by feeding the fish daily at 9:00 a.m. 0.200 ± 0.005 g of Nutra Olympic 1.5 mm feed (19 ± 2 Bq·day^-1), which was contaminated with ¹³⁷Cs (94 ± 5 Bq·g^-1). Measurement of the ¹³⁷Cs activity in each live individual fish and in six fish together from each aquarium was carried out for 600 - 1000 s on a scintillation gamma spectrometer (SEG-05, Ukraine). Fish were placed in a Marinelli container (1 L) with "clean" water, and the total mass of which was adjusted to 500 g (for one fish) or 1000 g (for a group of six fish). At the end of the experiment, in vivo measurements of ¹³⁷Cs activity in fish were duplicated by measurements of fish samples on a semiconductor gamma spectrometer. During the 60 days of the experiment, a monotonic increase in fish mass (0.03 - 0.05 g·day^-1) without a statistically significant effect of KFCF in the feed (0 - 1 %) was observed. It was established that the use of KFCF in feed leads to a statistically significant decrease in the intake of ¹³⁷Cs in fish. The radiological efficiency of KFCF application increases by increasing its concentration in the feed and reaches a maximum of 2.1 and 3.5 times within 60 days at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 % KFCF, respectively. The result is consistent with our previous findings. Statistical processing of the experimental data showed that, in general, the radiological efficiency of using feed containing 0.1 and 1 % KFCF was quite high and amounted to 8 and 16 times when reaching a stationary level of ¹³⁷Cs contamination of fish. Feed containing 0.01 - 0.05 % KFCF had the lowest radiological efficiency, 3 - 6 times. The conclusions of our previous studies confirmed that, unlike mammals, the use of KFCF in fish feed leads to a slight decrease in the rate of absorption of radiocesium in the gastrointestinal tract of fish (1.3 - 1.7 times), but at the same time, significantly reduces its biological half-life in the body to 20 - 30 days. Overall, the experiment showed that the use of feed containing 0.1 and 1 % KFCF is an effective and relatively inexpensive countermeasure to reduce ¹³⁷Cs contamination of fish.

Keywords: ¹³⁷Cs, hexacyanoferrate, countermeasure, activity, Prussian blue, radioactive contamination, freshwater fish, reduction factor, potassium ferric hexacyanoferrate.

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