The investigation of ^1^3^7Cs and ^9^0Sr background radiation levels in soil and plant around Tianwan NPP, China [An article from: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
^1^3^7Cs and ^9^0Sr background levels in soil and plant around Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) are reported. Eighty-four soil samples and 44 plant samples were collected from March 2000 to April 2002. The samples were analyzed by gamma spectrometry and radiochemical separation procedure to quantify ^1^3^7Cs and ^9^0Sr radioactivities. The concentrations (Bqkg^-^1 dry weight) have been observed in the range of 0.6-1.6 for ^9^0Sr and 1.4-6.9 for ^1^3^7Cs in soils, their average values are 1.0+/-0.3 and 4.6+/-1.6, respectively, which are relatively lower than the reported values in neighboring countries. The mean concentrations (in Bqkg^-^1 fresh weight except for tea and grass which is expressed in Bqkg^-^1 dry weight) of ^1^3^7Cs and ^9^0Sr are 0.1+/-0.03 and 7.7+/-4.1 in pine needle, 0.27+/-0.05 and 3.0+/-1.1 in tea, 0.65+/-0.19 and 2.1+/-0.3 in grass, 0.033+/-0.021 and 0.084+/-0.045 in wheat, 0.019+/-0.01 and 0.23+/-0.06 in China cabbage, and 0.009+/-0.007 and 0.024+/-0.084 in rice, respectively. The pine needle and tea can be regarded as indicator species for ^9^0Sr and ^1^3^7Cs. The soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF) values of ^9^0Sr and ^1^3^7Cs are, respectively, 0.022 and 0.031 for rice, 0.066 and 3.83 for China cabbage, 0.0088 and 0.089 for wheat, and 0.037 and 0.56 for grass.