Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factors and Distribution Coefficient of 137Cs in Some Palestinian Agricultural Areas

Abstract

137 Cs is one of a few radio contaminants. It stems from the radiation leakage that is left in measurable quantities in Palestine. The transfer factor (TF) from soil to plant, and the distribution coefficient (K d ) of fallout radionuclides 137 Cs in soil samples collected from agricultural areas in the southern part of the West Bank in Palestine are measured in this study. The TF of 137 Cs ranged from 0.02 to 0.46 with a total average value of 0.18. In the current study, the average values of TF of 137 Cs in plant parts were found to be closed to the IAEA range value of plants, which was ranged from 0.02 to 3.2. The K d ranged from 138 to 143 mℓ•g −1 within a total average value of 140 mℓ•g −1 . The average K d value for 137 Cs in Hebron region is lower than the recommended level of 500 mℓ•g −1 , which is assumed to be about 1/4th of the K d recommended values. The methodology is applied to the other elements while physico-chemical forms of natural and non-natural isotopes should be also clarified. The obtained findings alongside some previous studies are discussed in this paper so as to evaluate the risk of the radio cesium endangerment.