Ra-226 concentrations in otter, Lutra canadensis, trapped near uranium tailings at Elliot Lake, Ontario

During the 1984-85 season, 7 other carcasses were obtained from licenced trappers operating within 10 km of uranium mine tailings at Elliot lake. An otter from the Muskoka area served as a control. In 5 of the Elliot lake otters, radium-226 levels in leg bone ranged from 0.2 to 12.6 pCi per g. In the other 2 Elliot lake otters, and in the control, radium-226 in leg bone was less than 0.1 pCi per g. Otter diet consisted primarily of fish, particularly slower-moving bottom feeders which had been shown to accumulate highest levels of radium-226.