Cs-137 and relationships with major and trace elements in edible mushroomsfrom Mexico

Cs-137 and K-40 specific activity together with major and trace elements we re determined in soil samples and in different edible wild mushroom species collected from a seminatural temperate forest ecosystem located in the cen tral part of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. The activity measurements were made using a gamma-ray spectrometer system with a high purity germanium (HpGe) detector. The major and trace elements were determined using emission spect rography and mass spectrometry, respectively. The aggregated transfer facto rs for Cs-137 Were estimated in 30 local mushroom species collected from 19 93 to 1999. Differences as large as three orders of magnitude were observed . The contribution of mushrooms for the total Cs-137 dietary intake by the local population was estimated to be 37%. Mushrooms also showed to be good accumulators for Rb, Cu, Cs and Se. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.