CONCENTRATIONS OF ALKALI AND ALKALINE-EARTH ELEMENTS IN MUSHROOMS ANDPLANTS COLLECTED IN A JAPANESE PINE FOREST, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH CS-137

Cs-137 and stable Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba and Al were determined in 29 mushrooms and 8 plants collected from a Japanese pine forest. C oncentrations of Cs-137, CS and Rb in mushrooms were one order of magn itude higher than those in plants growing in the same forest. On the o ther hand, concentrations of Ca and Sr in mushrooms were obviously low er than those in plants. A good correlation (r = 0.99, p < 0.01) betwe en Cs-137 and stable Cs concentrations was observed for mushrooms. The Cs-137/Cs ratios were almost constant (Cs-137/Cs = 134 +/- 36 Bq mg(- 1) in 1990) and were significantly higher than that in the surface soi l (27 Bq mg(-1)). The ratios for plants were almost the same as those for mushrooms. In plant samples, good correlations were observed among the concentrations of K, Rb, Cs and Mg. Correlation between those of Ca and Sr was also good. In contrast, Cs was not correlated with K in mushrooms, indicating that the mechanism of Cs uptake was different fr om that for K. Rb showed a correlation with Cs (r = 0.82). (C) 1998 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.