Transfer of Radionuclides K-40, Th-232 and Ra-226 from Mining Soil to Sawi (Japanese Mustard)
- Radiation Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Malaya, 59100, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
The uptake of naturally occurring thorium, radium and potassium by sawi (Japanese Mustard) from disused tin mining was studied. Both soil and sawi sample were collected from a vegetable farm located 15 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where the farm has been operating for 22 years on a disused tin mining. By using a gamma spectroscopy system, the transfers of radionuclides from soil to plants were investigated. The highest values of radionuclides in the soil was K-40 which is 52.8 Bq kg{sup -1} and the lowest was Ra-226 which is 6.51 Bq kg{sup -1}. The activity of Th-232 is 18.5 Bq kg{sup -1}. The activity of radionuclides in the sawi sample shows higher values as compared to the soil sample. The highest values of radionuclides in the sawi were K-40 which is 446 Bq kg{sup -1} and the lowest was Ra-226 which is 17.5 Bq kg{sup -1}. The activity of Th-232 is 65.2 Bq kg{sup -1}. The concentration of radionuclides in soils and plants can be used for the determination of soil-to-plant transfer factors. The soil to plant transfer factors (TF) were calculated and observed to be 2.68 for radium-226, 3.52 for thorium-232 and the highest which is 3.97 for potassium-40.
- OSTI ID:
- 21143305
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1017, Issue 1; Conference: PERFIK 2007: National physics conference 2007 on current issues of physics in Malaysia, Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia), 26-28 Dec 2007; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2940636; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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