Transfer of uranium and radium to Chinese cabbage from soil containing elevated levels of natural radionuclides

Abstract

The transfer of 238 U and 226 Ra to Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. subsp. pekinensis (Lour.) Hanelt) was investigated from soils contaminated with uranium-mill tailings (UMT) by means of a pot experiment in laboratory-based conditions applying different levels of soil contamination under various growing conditions. Activity concentrations for 226 Ra in Chinese cabbage varied from 56-276, 156-502 and 277-877 Bq kg -1 dry mass for 20, 40 and 60 % of UMT content in the soil, respectively, and for 238 U from 1.0-2.3 and 2.3-4.7 Bq kg -1 dry mass for 40 and 60 % of UMT content in the soil, respectively. The results showed increased accumulation of 226 Ra and low accumulation of 238 U in cabbage leaves in more contaminated soil.

Influence of natural radium contamination of barium chloride on the determination of radium isotopes in the water samples using α/β liquid scintillation spectrometry

“…Barium chloride is the principal reagent used in the precipitation of radium isotopes from the aqueous sample as a form of (Ra,Ba)SO 4 . This chemical separation precedes the LSC method, which is commonly used for radium determination in water samples.…”

“…Radium isotopes can easily migrate from one environmental system to the other and from soil into vegetables [1]. In hydrosphere, the heavy metals and radium isotopes often accumulate in fi shes and mussels, which are then soaked in human and animal bodies as food [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The industrial boilers used for a long time can be contaminated by a signifi cant amount of radium isotopes [9].…”