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Plutonium Mobility in Soil and Uptake in Plants: A Review
Author(s) -
Francis C. W.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1973.00472425000200010007x
Subject(s) - plutonium , subsoil , soil water , environmental science , environmental chemistry , greenhouse , agronomy , chemistry , soil science , radiochemistry , biology
A survey of the published literature pertaining to the movement of plutonium in soil and uptake in plants reveals that a major portion of the investigations pertain to soils developed under arid or semiarid climates. In some instances subsoil samples were used to describe plutonium adsorption characteristics and often short‐term greenhouse experiments were used to predict plant uptake. Some recent long‐term greenhouse studies indicate a substantially greater plant uptake of plutonium from a highly contaminated soil after 5 years of cropping as compared to the first year. It appears the most likely mode of plutonium entry into food chains leading to man would be that chelated with naturally occurring organic soil components. Chelation mechanisms have not been established.