Enhancement of Cesium 137 Excretion by Rats Fed Potassium-Supplemented Diets. ∗ ‡

Summary

Normal rat diet supplemented with potassium at concentrations of 5, 8, or 11% increased the excretion of a single intraperitioneal dose of Cs¹³⁷ from rats as compared with control rats ingesting normal rat diet without added potassium. Twenty days after injection, the Cs¹³⁷ burden of rats maintained on 5% potassium diet was half that of animals fed basal diet. Animals fed a semi-synthetic low potassium diet retained Cs¹³⁷ more tenaciously than animals on the normal diet.

Increasing dietary potassium intake simultaneously with exposure to Cs¹³⁷ does have the beneficial effect of enhancing Cs¹³⁷ excretion in the rat.