[CPEO-MEF] Deer tissue testing at Rocky Flats

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 
News Release 
December 20, 2004

Contaminant Study Completed on Deer at Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site: Study reveals actinide levels similar to deer found
off- site 


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is announcing the final results of a
deer tissue study conducted at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology
Site to determine if the deer are safe for human consumption if hunting
were allowed onsite.  Results indicate that the venison is as safe for
human consumption as venison taken off-site.

Tissues were collected from 26 deer taken in December of 2002 during a
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) study conducted by the Colorado Division
of Wildlife.  All of the Rocky Flats deer tested negative for CWD. 
Biologists collected lung, liver, muscle, kidney and bone tissues from
each deer. For comparison, tissues were also collected from a deer from
the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMA).

Sixteen (16) of 85 tissue samples from the Rocky Flats deer had
detectable levels of plutonium, americium, or uranium. Two of five
tissue samples of the RMA deer had detectable levels.  Americium was
detected in select lung, muscle, and kidney tissues of the Rocky Flats
deer, and was also detected in kidney and liver tissues of the RMA deer.
 Plutonium was only detected in bone samples from the Rocky Flats deer. 
Uranium was detected in select liver and muscle tissues of the Rocky
Flats deer, and was also detected in liver tissue of the RMA deer. All
detections of radioactive elements in these tissues were at very low
levels.  Historical studies of plutonium in deer tissues at Rocky Flats
yielded similar results to those presented in this study.  A prior
study, which included a wild deer from La Poudre Canyon and a captive
deer at Colorado State University, showed tissue activity levels similar
to Rocky Flats and RMA deer.

To predict potential health risk resulting from eating Rocky Flats deer,
a simple, but highly conservative estimate of risk was conducted.  The
calculations were based on one person eating the entire deer in a year. 
The highest risk calculated was attributed to americium in muscle tissue
of one deer, with tissue activity level (0.000449 pCi/g) translating to
a 6.76 X 10-8 risk level.  This level of risk corresponds with a 1 in
14,700,000 increased chance of cancer resulting from eating the deer
muscle.  This risk level falls under the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's acceptable risk range of 1 X 10-4 to 1 X 10-6.   

The full report and an executive summary are on the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's Rocky Flats Web Site: http://rockyflats.fws.gov.  If
access to the Internet is not possible, a copy of the final report is
available by contacting:  Contaminant Biologist, Rocky Flats National
Wildlife Refuge, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Building 121, Commerce City,
Colorado, 80222, (303) 966-5413.   

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of
small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird
populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native
American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also
oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of
millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to
state fish and wildlife agencies.

 -30-

For the original press release, go to 
http://news.fws.gov/NewsReleases/R6/F145E6B9-A87C-D5B6-79FBAE5656762711.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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