Much of our food directly or indirectly originates from plant material; thus, detailed studies on plant contamination processes are an essential part of international environmental research. This overview attempts to identify and describe the most important parameters and processes affecting the behaviour of radionuclide transfer to plants. Many parameters influence these processes. These parameters are related to: (1) plant, (2) soil, (3) radionuclide, (4) climate and (5) time. Often there is no boundary between the factors and they are linked to each other. Knowledge of important factors in radionuclide transfer to plants can help to assess and prevent radiological exposure of humans. This knowledge can also help to guide researches and modelling related to transfer of radionuclides to food chain.
Building materials, collected from different sites in Ramsar, a northern coastal city in Iran, were analyzed for their natural radionuclide contents. The measurements were carried out using a high resolution high purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometer system. The activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K content varied from below the minimum detection limit up to 86,400 Bqkg-1, 187 Bqkg-1, and 1350 Bqkg-1, respectively. The radiological hazards incurred from the use of these building materials were estimated through various radiation hazard indices. The result of this survey shows that values obtained for some samples are more than the internationally accepted maximum limits and as such, the use of them as a building material pose significant radiation hazard to individuals.
Abstract. The accumulation of 210 Pb in organic material within the surface (0 to 20 em depth) horizons of soil is used to quantify local variability in the atmospheric inputs through wet deposition, cloud droplet deposition and dry deposition of aerosols. The method has been applied to quantify the long-term (-50 yr) average enhancement in deposition as a consequence of orographic effects on a 800 m mountain in southwest Scotland. The 210 Pb inventory increases by a factor of2.5 up the hillslope and is comparable to the modeled increase in wet deposition of major ions, and larger than the increase in rainfall with altitude by a factor of two. A second study site examined the increase in deposition beneath a Norway spruce canopy relative to open grassland at an elevation of 450 min the Scottish Borders. The inventory of 210 Pb under the forest canopy exceeded that in the grassland by approximately 35 %, in good agreement with deposition estimates obtained from a continuous record of cloud frequency and meteorological variables.
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