Dry deposition of gaseous radioiodine and particulate radiocaesium onto leafy vegetables

Foliar interception of radionuclides in dry conditions: a meta-analysis using a Bayesian modeling approach

“…The aerodynamic processes, which impact differently for gas and particles (Tschiersch et al, 2009), and the structure of the plant leaves combined with planting density during the radionuclide deposition onto plant surfaces may explain this difference.…”

“…Indeed, the paucity of data for the interception factors of vegetables, discussed in Chamberlain and Garland (1991);IAEA, 2010;Pr€ ohl and Hoffman, 1996;Vandecasteele et al, 2001 motivated our focus on "such different" plants. The relevancy of these plants also lay partly in their significant contribution to the total dose ingested by human population in a post-accidental situation (De Lurdes Dinis and Fiúza, 2007;Simpkins, 2005;Tschiersch et al, 2009).…”

“…The exchanges at the atmosphere-plant interface and the fate of contaminants subsequent to the deposition of radionuclides onto the plant canopy (Thiessen et al, 1999) are governed by complex physical and chemical processes leading to large sources of uncertainty when assessing nuclear accident consequences. Hence, the interception of the radioactive plume by vegetation is highlighted as a further research priority in the field of radioecology (Thiessen et al, 1999;Tschiersch et al, 2009).…”

“…Radionuclides are different in terms of chemical and physical characteristics. Thus, interception of a gas may be significantly different from interception of a submicronic particle, itself different from interception of micronic particles, resulting from differences between the dry deposition velocities of gases, submicronic and micronic particles (Sehmel, 1980;Sehmel and Hodgson, 1978;Tschiersch et al, 2009) onto the plant canopy.…”

“…Heterogeneity due to the botanic characteristics of plants: most authors focused in their experimental studies, on interception, on a single type of plants rather than combining in a unique experimental framework plants that are different in terms of the botanic specificities of the plants. The level of dry interception may be strongly dependent on the peculiarities of the plant canopy (Kinnersley and Scott, 2001;IAEA, 2010;Thiessen et al, 1999;Tschiersch et al, 2009). Heterogeneity due to the plants use in daily life by humans: plants could be considered to be different, and thus not combined in the same models because they are used for different purposes in terms of daily life.…”