Transfer of 131I and 95mTc from Pasture to Goat Milk

Abstract

The behaviour of technetium-99 (99Tc) in food chains is of interest because of the release of this radionuclide to the environment from the nuclear fuel cycle. Technetium (element 43) was predicted in the periodic table but was not studied until the advent of man-induced fission. Its principal isotope, 99Tc, is produced in high yields (~6%) from U-235 fission. Technetium-99’s long half-life (2·1 × 105 years) and potential mobility make understanding its behaviour important in evaluating the radiological consequences of the operation of the nuclear fuel cycle.