Influence of Dietary Potassium and Sodium on Cesium-134 and Potassium-42 Excretion in Sheep

Forty-eight yearling wethers were used in the three investigations reported on to test the influence of dietary potassium and sodium upon the metabolism of orally administered potassium-42 and cesium-134 in sheep. Dietary potassium significantly increased excretion of both potassium-42 and cesium-134 in both the presence and absence of dietary sodium. Dietary sodium did not appreciably affect excretion of potassium-42 and cesium-134 in the absence of dietary potassium but did change the excretory pattern of these radionuclides in the presence of dietary potassium.