Strontium-90: Effects of Chronic Ingestion on Farrowing Performance of Miniature Swine
William J. Clarke 1,
Ray F. Palmer 1,
Edwin B. Howard 1,
Patricia L. Hackett 1, and
John M. Thomas 2
1 Biology Department, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, Washington 99352
2 Biology and Mathematics Departments, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Battelle Memorial Institute
In experiments involving the ingestion of strontium-90 by nearly 800 female miniature swine and extending over three generations, no significant differences in litter size, percentage of stillborn, or birth weight were observed between controls and animals ingesting up to 625 microcuries of strontium-90 per day. At 625 microcuries per day, these animals were ingesting more than a million times the peak value of strontium-90 ever reported in the American diet. Animals on 3100 microcuries per day did not survive the gestation period. From these studies, it is evident that feeding levels of strontium-90 high enough to affect fetal or neonatal mortality in this species will not permit maternal survival long enough for the bearing of young.
