TRANSFER OF RADIONUCLIDES TO VEGETABLE AND OTHER CROPS GROWN ON LAND RECLAIMED FROM THE SEA

An area of reclaimed land on the Lancashire coast has been used to gro w a wide range of clops to provide data on transfer parameters of radi onuclides in foodchains when the activity is almost entirely of marine origin. Activity concentrations in the foodstuffs were low and not of radiological significance. However, meaningful results could be obtai ned if large sample sizes were employed. This paper sets out the metho dology applied to a substantial field investigation of transfer to veg etable crops. The large sample sizes could be accommodated adequately with only minor modifications to established analytical procedures. Th e results of the study are discussed briefly. Since the growing condit ions were virtually identical for each crop, comparisons of transfer f actors between the different crops should therefore be valid. For some radionuclides, notably Pu-239,Pu-240, Am-241 and Tc-99, the work has added significantly to the data that are presently available. For most of the radionuclides studied, uptake by crops could be adequately pre dicted using the parameter values currently used in generic assessment s, but for Tc-99, lower values would be more appropriate.