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Comparative Uptake of Uranium, Thorium, and Plutonium by Biota Inhabiting a Contaminated Tennessee Floodplain
Author(s) -
Garten Charles T.,
Bondietti Ernest A.,
Walker Raymond L.
Publication year - 1981
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/jeq1981.00472425001000020017x
Subject(s) - biota , floodplain , plutonium , uranium , environmental chemistry , soil contamination , radionuclide , thorium , radiochemistry , contamination , chemistry , environmental science , ecology , biology , materials science , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
The uptake of 238 U, 232 Th, and 239 Pu from soil by rescue, grasshoppers, and small mammals was compared at the contaminated White Oak Creek floodplain in East Tennessee. Comparisons of actinide uptake were based on analyses of radionuclide ratios (U/Pu and Th/Pu) in soil and biota. U:Pu ratios in small mammal carcasses (shrews, mice, and rats) and bone samples from larger mammals (rabbit, woodchuck, opossum, and raccoon) were significantly greater (P ±0.05) than U/Pu ratios in soil (based on 8 M HNO 3 extractable). There was no significant difference between Th/Pu ratios in animals and soil. The order of actinide accumulation by biota from the site relative to contaminated soil was U > Th ≈ Pu.