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Uptake of Cesium‐137 and Strontium‐90 from Contaminated Soil by Three Plant Species; Application to Phytoremediation
Author(s) -
Fuhrmann Mark,
Lasat Mitch M.,
Ebbs Stephen D.,
Kochian Leon V.,
Cornish Jay
Publication year - 2002
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/jeq2002.9040
Subject(s) - phytoremediation , brassica , agronomy , phaseolus , contamination , soil contamination , raphanus , biology , horticulture , ecology
A field test was conducted to determine the ability of three plant species to extract 137 Cs and 90 Sr from contaminated soil. Redroot pigweed ( Amaranthus retroflexus L.), Indian mustard [ Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.], and tepary bean ( Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) were planted in a series of spatially randomized cells in soil that was contaminated in the 1950s and 1960s. We examined the potential for phytoextraction of 90 Sr and 137 Cs by these three species. Concentration ratios (CR) for 137 Cs for redroot pigweed, Indian mustard, and tepary bean were 2.58, 0.46, and 0.17, respectively. For 90 Sr they were substantially higher: 6.5, 8.2, and 15.2, respectively. The greatest accumulation of both radionuclides was obtained with redroot pigweed, even though its CR for 90 Sr was the lowest, because of its relatively large biomass. There was a linear relationship between the 137 Cs concentration in plants and its concentration in soil only for redroot pigweed. Uptake of 90 Sr exhibits no relationship to 90 Sr concentrations in the soil. Estimates of time required for removal of 50% of the two contaminants, assuming two crops of redroot pigweed per year, are 7 yr for 90 Sr and 18 yr for 137 Cs.