ECOSYS-87: Model Calculations of the activity in cow meat related to deposition time and feeding regimes after a nuclear fallout

The radioecological model ECOSYS-87 was used to evaluate the effect of countermeasures for reducing the ingestion dose by eating cattle meat after an accidental release of radioactive material. Calculations were performed using a database adapted to Swiss conditions for the case that (1) contaminated grass or hay is replaced by clean fodder; (2) the last 100 days before slaughter, taking place one year after an accident, only uncontaminated fodder is given; and (3) alternative feeding regimes are chosen. Seasonal effects were considered by doing all calculations for a deposition at each month of the year. Feeding uncontaminated forage 100 d before slaughter (case 2) proved to be the most effective countermeasure and reduced the integrated activity in meat by 90% to 99%. The effect of replacing contaminated grass (case I) was less uniform and depended strongly on the time a deposition occurred. In this case the reduction was between 50% and 100% one year after deposition. The substitution of contaminated hay (case 1) was less effective compared to the substitution of grass. The choice of alternative feeding regimes (case 3) led to a reduction of the integrated activity of up to 40% one year after deposition. The present model calculations dearly reveal the importance of the seasonality and demonstrate the usefulness of such calculations as a basis for generating countermeasures in decision support systems