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Plutonium in Gemüse, Obst und Böden
Author(s) -
Frindik O.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
zeitschrift für pflanzenernährung und bodenkunde
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 0044-3263
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.19781410302
Subject(s) - plutonium , nuclide , chemistry , plutonium 240 , radiochemistry , toxicology , environmental science , zoology , horticulture , plutonium 239 , biology , physics , nuclear physics , fission , neutron
Plutonium in vegetables, fruits, and soils The plutonium content of fruits and vegetables from the Karlsruhe area in the years of 1971 ‐ 1975 was determined. In vegetables the Pu‐239 and Pu‐240 activities were highly different, fluctuating between 64 fCi/kg fresh weight and values below the detection limit of about 6 fCi/kg. The activity of most of the vegetables and of all fruits was not higher than 10 fCi/kg. The nuclide Pu‐238 could be identified in a qualitative way only, i. e. all measuring values remained below the detection limit of about 17 fCi/kg. The total‐alpha‐activities which were simultaneously determined in the vegetable and fruit ashes were in the range of 0.5 ‐19 pCi/kg fresh weight. Soil samples taken from the same region had a mean Pu‐239 and Pu‐240 activity of 5.9 ± 1.4 fCi/g and a total‐alpha‐activity of (10 ± 1.5) · 10 3 fCi/g. Samples taken from the immediate vicinity of the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre did not show increased activity levels.