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Factors Affecting Radionuclide Availability to Vegetables Grown at Los Alamos
Author(s) -
White G. C.,
Hakonson T. E.,
Ahlquist A. J.
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/jeq1981.00472425001000030008x
Subject(s) - radionuclide , environmental science , contamination , manure , soil test , squash , national laboratory , phaseolus , human fertilization , radioactive contamination , soil water , agronomy , horticulture , biology , soil science , ecology , physics , engineering physics , quantum mechanics
A field study was conducted in 1977 on 238, 239 Pu and 137 Cs availability to zucchini squash ( Curcurbita melopepo , hybrid seneca) and green bush beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris , Landreths stringless) grown under home‐garden conditions in an area at Los Alamos National Laboratory used for treated radioactive liquid waste disposal. Radionuclide concentrations were measured as a function of tissue type, height above the soil, fertilization regime, and for the squash, food‐cleansing procedures. Analysis of variance procedures were used to analyze the data. Ratios of the concentration of a radionuclide in oven‐dried vegetation to dry soil ranged from 0.0004 to 0.116 for the Pu isotopes, and from 0.051 to 0.255 for 137 Cs. Fertilization with cattle manure reduced the Pu concentration ratios by 30% and 137 Cs by 50%. Vegetative parts sampled within 20 cm of the ground surface were contaminated about four times as much as those parts growing further from the ground surface. About 65% of the contamination was removed by washing, indicating the presence of surficial contamination. The 50‐year radiation dose commitment to humans consuming vegetables from the garden plot would be less than 0.05 mrem and would be due almost entirely to 137 Cs.