Transfer factors of²²⁶Ra,²¹⁰Pb and²¹⁰Po from NORM-contaminated oilfield soil to someAtriplexspecies,AlfalfaandBermuda grass

Abstract

-Transfer factors of 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po from soil contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in oilfields to some grazing plants were determined using pot experiments. Contaminated soil was collected from a dry surface evaporation pit from a Syrian oilfield in the Der Ezzor area. Five types of plants (Atriplex halimus L., Atriplex canescens, Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss, Alfalfa and Bermuda grass) were grown and harvested three times over two years. The results show that the mean transfer factors of 226 Ra from the contaminated soil to the studied plant species were 1.6 × 10 −3 for Atriplex halimus L., 2.1 × 10 −3 for Atriplex canescens, 2.5 × 10 −3 for Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss, 8.2 × 10 −3 for Bermuda grass, and the highest value was 1.7 × 10 −2 for Alfalfa. Transfer factors of 210 Pb and 210 Po were higher than 226 Ra TFs by one order of magnitude and reached 7 × 10 −3 , 1.1 × 10 −2 , 1.2 × 10 −2 , 3.2 × 10 −2 and 2.5 × 10 −2 for Atriplex halimus, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss, Bermuda grass and Alfalfa, respectively. The results can be considered as base values for transfer factors of 226 Ra, 210 Pb and 210 Po in semiarid regions.

The use of Groasis Waterboxx devices to improve mineland reclamation efforts by increasing transplant survival and growth of five native woody species

“…Our finding that A. canescens does not need a water management device is not a complete surprise as it has been shown to have the capacity to grow in a broad range of conditions (LeHouerou 1992; Fitzsimmons et al 1998; Saucedo‐Teran et al 2011). Our results confirm that A. canescens is a good species for mineland restoration in semiarid environments because it has good survivability and vigor without additional inputs (Benzarti et al 2013; Al‐Masri et al 2014; Ma et al 2022). We suggest that this species would be suitable to use in areas where access to the site is limited or where soils (e.g.…”

“…Pinus edulis is of value for restoring degraded sites (Wood et al 1995), as it provides food and shelter for large game, small mammals, and various bird species (Rasmussen 1941; Meeuwig & Bassett 1983). Atriplex canescens is widely distributed in semiarid regions and has been extensively used in reclamation projects for erosion control due to its resistance to soil salinity, drought, and wide environmental adaptability (Benzarti et al 2013; Al‐Masri et al 2014; Ma et al 2022). Purshia tridentata is a favorable shrub for restoration because it is a key forage for large mammals (Guenther et al 1993), a source of seed for granivores (Vanderwall 1994), an early season source of pollen and nectar for a variety of insects (Furniss 1997), and is capable of establishing on harsh rocky sites (Zlatnik 1999).…”

Analysis of 238U, 226Ra, and 210Pb transfer factors from soil to the leaves of broadleaf tree species

“…Us ing val ues for coarse sand (73.8-82.2 %) from [23], there was an agree ment be tween the TF val ues reported and those pre dicted in this study, re spec tively: 0.18 vs. 0.20 (for 81.86 Bqkg -1 238 U soil ) and 0.97 vs. 1.00 (for 9.75 Bqkg -1 238 U soil ) for mango leaves at two dif fer ent sites and for guava leaves: 0.19 vs. 0.20 (for 86.79 Bqkg -1 238 U soil ) and 0.19 vs. 0.12 (25.66 % of sand and 60.88 Bqkg -1 238 U soil ). Sim i larly, 226 Ra TF val ues for the leaves of woody spe cies, used as me dic i nal plants [32], grown in the soil with the mean value of 56.7 % frac tion of sand were com pared with the val ues pre dicted in this study: 0.25 vs. 0.31 (for 30.8 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Fagus sylvatica L.; 0.52 vs. 0.54 (for 17.3 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Pru nus spinosa L. and 0.522 vs. 0.41 (for 23 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Sambucus nigra L. There was also an agree ment for 226 Ra TF for shrubs Atriplex halimus (0.33 vs. 0.25) and Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss (0.27 vs. 0.25) at the back ground site (51.57 % of sand and 33 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) [33]. How ever, dis crepancy (one or der of mag ni tude dif fer ence) was found for the same spe cies grown in the soil re cently highly contam i nated by 226 Ra (~15×10 3 Bqkg -1 ) [33].…”

“…Sim i larly, 226 Ra TF val ues for the leaves of woody spe cies, used as me dic i nal plants [32], grown in the soil with the mean value of 56.7 % frac tion of sand were com pared with the val ues pre dicted in this study: 0.25 vs. 0.31 (for 30.8 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Fagus sylvatica L.; 0.52 vs. 0.54 (for 17.3 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Pru nus spinosa L. and 0.522 vs. 0.41 (for 23 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) for Sambucus nigra L. There was also an agree ment for 226 Ra TF for shrubs Atriplex halimus (0.33 vs. 0.25) and Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss (0.27 vs. 0.25) at the back ground site (51.57 % of sand and 33 Bqkg -1 226 Ra soil ) [33]. How ever, dis crepancy (one or der of mag ni tude dif fer ence) was found for the same spe cies grown in the soil re cently highly contam i nated by 226 Ra (~15×10 3 Bqkg -1 ) [33]. In the case of 210 Pb, TF val ues are cal cu lated us ing only its ac tiv ity con cen tra tions in the soil (the co ef fi cients are given in tab.…”