Fat tissue is not a reservoir for radiocesium in wild boars

Meat of wild boars is not only known for high Cs-137 activity concentrations but also for the remarkable constancy of these levels. Even decades after the Chernobyl accident, the Cs-137 levels in wild boar meat in Central Europe have not declined but even partly increased. In the present study, we investigated an unusual hypothesis for this very unusual phenomenon: may the boars' fat tissue act as a reservoir for radiocesium? We investigated fat and muscle tissues of four wild boars in Western Germany and found that the Cs-137 concentrations in fat were in the range of 10-30% of the respective activities in muscle tissue. Hence, the hypothesis was refuted.