Plant Uptake of Radionuclides in Lysimeter Experiments
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AT9900006 Plant uptake of radionuclides in lysimeter experiments M.H. Gerzabek F. Strebl B. Temmel June 1998 OEFZS—4820 SEIBERSDORF 30-20 / OEFZS-4820 June 1998 Plant uptake of radionuclides in lysimeter experiments In: Environmental Pollution 99 (1998) 93-103 M.H. Gerzabek, F. Strebl, B. Temmel Department of Environmental Research Division of Life Sciences ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ELSEVIER Environmental Pollution 99 (1998) 93-103 Plant uptake of radionuclides in lysimeter experiments M.H. Gerzabek*, F. Strebl, B. Temmel Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf, Division of Life Sciences, A-2444 Seibersdorf Austria Received 20 June 1997; accepted 15 October 1997 Abstract The results of seven years lysimeter experiments to determine the uptake of 60 Co, 137Cs and 226 Ra into agricultural crops (endive, maize, wheat, mustard, sugarbeet, potato, Faba bean, rye grass) are described. The lysimeter consists of twelve monolithic soil profiles (four soil types and three replicates) and is located in Seibersdorf/Austria, a region with a pannonian climate (pronounced differences between hot and semi-arid summers and humid winter conditions, annual mean of precipitation: 517 mm, mean annual temperature: 9.8°C). Besides soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF), fluxes were calculated taking into account biomass production and growth time. Total median values of TF’s (dry matter basis) for the three radionuclides decreased from 226 Ra (0.068 kg kg" 1) to ,37Cs (0.043 kg kg" 1) and 60 Co (0.018 kg kg" 1); flux values exhibited the same ranking. The varying physical and chemical proper ties of the four experimental soils resulted in statistically significant differences in transfer factors or fluxes between the investigated soils for l37Cs and 226 Ra, but not for 60 Co. Differences in transfer between plant species and plant parts are distinct, with grami naceous species showing, on average, TF values 5.8 and 15 times lower than dicotyledonous species for 137Cs and 60 Co, respectively. This pattern was not found for 226 Ra. It can be concluded that 137Cs transfer is heavily influenced by soil characteristics, whilst the plant-specific factors are the main source of TF variability for 60 Co. The variability of 226 Ra transfer originates both from soil properties and plant species behaviour. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Caesium; Cobalt; Fluxes; Plant uptake; Radium 1. Introduction waste of money and foodstuff, while underestimations must be avoided to meet radiological standards. Critics In recent years a growing interest in the evaluation of of the TF-concept demand a more realistic description fluxes of nutrients as well as contaminants through eco of soil-plant relationships, one that takes into account systems has been expressed in many fields of environ physiological mechanisms of nutrient and radionuclide mental research, including radioecology (Frissel and uptake. This approach might reduce the extremely high Pennders, 1983). Dealing with dynamic phenomena like variability of TF values for different crops (Smolders bioaccumulation requires the introduction of major and Merckx, 1993). driving processes into descriptions of radionuclide The present paper presents soil-plant transfer data transfer (Desmet et al., 1991). for 60 Co, 137Cs and 226 Ra from seven years of lysimeter Many radiological food-chain transport models as experiments. The calculation of traditional transfer fac well as biospheric assessment models are based on the tors was supplemented by a new approach that takes traditional transfer factor concept, where soil-plant into account dry matter production of vegetation and relationships are described by concentration ratios the exposure time of the crops to nutrients and radio assuming first order linearity. Radiological databases nuclides from artificially contaminated soils. The results like those published by the International Atomic Energy from both approaches are compared and correlations Agency (1994) intend to cover a broad range of soil with soil characteristics are calculated. types and plants. Model predictions that form the basis for decision making, e.g. in the calculation of dose limits 2. Materials and methods for human consumption of agricultural products, need to be as precise as possible; overestimation leads to a 2.1. Soils The selection of soil types for the lysimeter experi * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] . ments was based on their relative abundance in Austrian 0269-7491/98/$ 19.00 © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0269-7491 (97)00167-X 94 M.H. Gerzabek et al.j Environmental Pollution 99 (1998) 93-103 regions suitable for geological radioactive waste dis and powdered with an agate mill. The upper 20 cm posal. The lysimeter facility consists of 12 soil monoliths of each lysimeter profile were mixed thoroughly with from four sites prepared in triplicate (Soil I: Eutric the contaminated soil aliquots, then placed on top of Cambisol, a slightly alkaline, calcareous soil with a high the monolithic subsoils in the appropriate lysimeter silt content and a low amount of gravel; Soil II: Dystric pots. Introduced activities for each lysimeter (1 m2 sur Cambisol on fine colluvium with a medium content of face area) amounted to 588 ± 30.8 kBq 137Cs, coarse gravel; Soil III: Dystric Cambisol on crystalline 687.9 ± 40.7 kBq 60 Co, and 79.0 ±8.5 kBq 226 Ra. Added rock, extremely high amount of coarse stones, with low activities were monitored before and after mixing; the pH-value and high extractable potassium contents; Soil contamination procedure yielded standard deviations of IV: Dystric Gleysol already drained with a medium to less than 10%, proving homogeneity within pots and high fraction of gravel). The size of the monoliths is between the different lysimeters. 'The radionuclide 1x1x0.75 m. Soil characteristics are listed in Table 1 concentrations originally present in the soil profiles and described in more detail in Gerzabek et al. (1996). (depositions from Chernobyl or nuclear weapon fallout Soil analysis was performed according to Austrian in the case of mCs and the natural 226 Ra) were deter standard methods (Blum et al., 1996). Descriptions of mined in composite samples from the sampling area of lysimeter construction and maintenance have been pre the soil monoliths. Results of these determinations are viously described (Gerzabek, 1990). presented in Table 1. 2.2. Radionuclide contamination 2.3. Gammaspectrometric measurements After contaminating 1 kg surface soil from each lysi Gammaspectrometric determinations were carried meter monolith with a solution containing a mixture of out using a multichannel analyser system with high the chosen radionuclides, these aliquots were air dried purity germanium detectors (30% relative efficiency) in Table 1 Soil characteristics of lysimeter soils in 0-20 cm depth Parameter Soil I Soil II Soil III Soil IV pH (CaCl2) 7.5 4.6 5.1 5.9 pH (H20) 8.1 5.1 5.3 6.2 Sand (%) 17 48 61 24 Silt (%) 65 43 27 62 Clay (%) 18 9 12 14 Caolinite (% of clay) 8 8 23 35 Illite (% of clay) 69 59 42 28 Humus (%) 1.5 2.4 2.6 5.2 CaCOj (%) 18.3 <d.l. <d.l. <d.l. mg KaO/lOOg-' (CAL or DLa) 11.7 <d.l. 34.9 5.2 mg P205 100g"' (CAL or DLa) 16.2 6.6 7.1 3.8 %Ca (total) 6.21 0.29 0.21 0.40 %Mg (total) 1.87 1.00 0.76 0.68 %K (total) 0.44 0.15 0.58 0.28 %Fe (total) 2.26 4.57 3.40 3.65 Ca exch (Bac/,) (rneq. 100 g"‘) 12.3 4.1 5.88 15.7 Mg cxch (Bac/2) (meq. 100g-') 1.5 0.18 1.26 3.44 K cxch (Bac/J (meq. 100 g-1) 0.4 0.05 1.35 0.17 Na exch (Bac/2) (meq. 100 g"‘) 0.1 0.07 0.09 0.35 Fe exch(EDTA) (PP®) 130 139 248 839 Mn exch(EDTA) (PPm) 303 115 143 402 Cu cxch(EDTA) (PPm) 3.8 6.0 2.2 8.2 Zn cxch(EDTA) (ppm) 3.9 1.8 6.7 5.0 Water permeability (m d~') 0.64 1.80 0.54 0.06 Electrical conductivity (mS cm-1) 0.14 0.08 0.12 0.31 li7Cs after contamination (Bq kg-1 ) 2301 ±51 2445 ±254 2143 ±147 3972 ±272 137Cs from Chernobyl (Bq kg-1 ) 54±6 182 ±82 158 ± 10 278 ±33 60 Co after contamination (Bq kg"') 2652 ±67 2668 ±282 2302 ±177 4281 ±306 60 Co before contamination (Bq kg"') <d.l. <d.l. <d.I. <d.l. 226 Ra after contamination (Bq kg"') 341 ±18 350 ±61 322 ±14 535 ±83 226 Ra natural background (Bq kg"') 46 ±3 24 ±4 60 ±7 51 ±7 < d.l. = below detection limit. a Calciumacetate-lactate or double-lactate extraction. M.H. Gerzabek et al.jEnvironmental Pollution 99 (1998) 93-103 95 Table 2 ments were carried out in Marinelli beakers with air Growth time and biomass production of lysimeter crops of different tight lids after a storage time of at least three weeks to years allow the necessary equilibrium for the daughter Species Mean yield Growth Year nuclides of 226 Ra. (g dry time matter m-2) (days) 2.6. Calculations Endivia sp. 34 160 1990 (endive leaves) 2.6.1. Transfer factor Zea mays 2370 153 1991 Transfer factor (TF) values were determined on a (maize straw) mass basis: the activity concentration of plant samples Zea mays 1158 80 1991 (maize corn) (dry matter d.m.) was related to the radionuclide activ Triticum aestivum 424 252 1991/ ityconcentration in the first 20 cm of soil and calculated (wheat straw) 1992 as follows: TF = (Bq kg -1 plant d.m.) / (Bq kg"" 1 soil Triticum aestivum 326 50 1991/ d.m.).