Radiocaesium in mushrooms from northeast Italy, 1986-2002

Abstract

Late in the summer of 1986, the Health Physics Departments of Pordenone, Udine and Trieste, entrusted with monitoring radioactivity in the environment and food as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident, started noticing high concentrations of radionuclides--especially radiocaesium--in mushroom samples coming from different areas of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (northeast Italy). To date, the authors have conducted 14 annual rounds of sampling and gamma spectrometry measurements on mushrooms, generating a total of over 2250 samples belonging to more than 300 species, which were picked in about 30 stations in the region. This surveys the main results from 15 years of macromycetes radiocontamination analysis in the region, the still unsolved problems, and hypotheses for future work.

Measurement of Cesium‐137 in Foodstuffs

“…It is, therefore, a comparatively young country where there is a need for continued and extensive monitoring of radioactivity in foodstuffs. Cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) nuclide (half-life: 30 years) is the prime target for monitoring contamination of foodstuffs from radioactive fallout (Mehli et al 2000;Alonso-Hernandez et al 2002;Badran et al 2003;Ould-Dada et al 2003;Duran et al 2004;Giovani et al 2004;Malek et al 2004;Riond 2004). The 662-keV gamma ray of 137 Cs has an intensity of 95%, which makes it highly measurable with an appropriate detection system.…”

Dynamics of ¹³⁷Cs contamination in some components of ecosystems of Shatsk national nature park

“…На основі результатів досліджень зміни вмісту радіоцезію у грибах, відібраних на півночі Італії, автори [17] відмітили практичну відсутність істотних змін у здатності накопичувати радіонуклід з часом; причому, одні види грибів з часом дещо зменшували темпи накопичення 137 …”

Evaluation of Cesium-137 (137Cs) and Elements Intake from Daily Diets in Residents of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

“…Among others, mushrooms are known to contain high levels of 137 Cs. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The contribution of group 6 to the intake of stable elements also seems to be high. During the survey period, 137 Cs was often detected from imported foods, but it was not possible to identify imported foods in the menus.…”