Impact of Tropical Ecosystem on the Migrational Behavior of K-40, Cs-137, Th-232 U-238 in Perennial Plants

Abstract

A comprehensive study was conducted to determine the soil to plant transfer factor (TF S-P ) of K-40, Cs-137, Th-232 and U-238 in perennial plants from accessible areas of Mumbai, using high-resolution γ spectrometry. A total of 50 soil and 150 plants samples were collected from all over the Mumbai region where lithology is dominated by basaltic rocks. The mean concentration values for K-40, Cs-137, Th-232 and U-238 in soil was 170.06±65.36, 5.19±1.20, 25.72±6.262 and 10.21±2.82 Bq kg −1 respectively, whereas in case of plants the mean concentration values were determined to be 181.82±18.50, 0.44± 0.14, 0.84±0.19 and 0.79±0.22 Bq kg −1 respectively. The mean activity ratio of Th-232/U-238 in plants is 1.06 while in soil the ratio is 2.5. The soil to plant transfer factor (TF S-P ) calculated for K-40, Cs-137, U-238 and Th-232 are 1.05, 0.076, 0.071 and 0.031 respectively. Higher value of TF S-P for K-40, which is an integral part of stable potassium clearly indicates the physiological need of stable potassium, for maintaining the different biological mechanisms of perennial plants under tropical conditions.

Assessment the Natural Radioactivity of Radionuclides ( 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs) in Wheat Grain

“…The obtained results showed the activity concentrations of the radionuclides ( 226 Ra < 232 Th < 40 K) which is in accordance with the information presented by (Changizi et al, 2013). The soilto-wheat grain transfer factors of 40 K are considerably higher than those for 226 Ra and 232 Th because of the high solubility of 40 K in water and its high mobility in soil (Kumar, et al, 2008). The noticeably high recorded values of 40 K in the wheat grain samples within the present study are similar findings recorded by Akhtar andTufail, 2006, Alshahri, 2016. The average values of activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K for the wheat grain samples in this study were too lower than the worldwide average values recommended by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation Sources as 32 Bq/kg for 226 Ra, 45 Bq/kg for 232 Th, and 412 Bq/kg for 40 K (UNSCEAR, 2000).…”

Effect of waste mica on transfer factors of134Cs to spinach and lettuce

“…Cs/K discriminating factors reported in the literature provide sufficient evidence that K is more efficiently absorbed from soils by different crops (Ciuffo et al, 2003;Kumar et al, 2008). Among the soils, Ultisols and Vertisols showed the highest and lowest transfer factors, respectively, and the effect was mainly ascribed to distinct variations with respect to soil pH, clay mineralogy, soil texture and K + contents.…”

Assessment of 232Th, 226Ra, 137Cs, and 40 K concentrations and annual effective dose due to the consumption of Vietnamese fresh milk

“…The lowest activity concentration of 40 K and 226 Ra are found in NT milk samples with 341 ± 6 and 1.45 ± 0.18 Bq/kg respectively. The relatively high activity concentration of 40 K in milk samples could be justified because potassium is a highly mobile in the environment [26][27][28], it is one of the major radionuclide elements in soil, and it naturally poses a part of potassium, which is a major nutrient for plants, animals and humans [10,11]. These reasons lead to high 40 K activity concentration in comparison with other radionuclides due to the transfer process from soil to grass and from grass and water to cow milk.…”