Effect of calcium silicate slag application on radium-226 concentrations in plant tissues

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986 · Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/00103628609367697· OSTI ID:7190519

Mortvedt, J J

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to determine if plants absorb Ra from slag applied to soil. Slag at rates equivalent to 0 and 22 mt/ha was mixed with Mountview silt loam (Typic Paleudults) limed to pH 5.8 and 7.2. Three clippings each of fescue (Festuca arundiancea Schreb.), and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.), and one harvest of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for grain and straw were grown on separate series of treated soil, and plant samples were analyzed for radioactivity due to /sup 226/Ra uptake. Samples of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) forage and extracted juice from field experiments in Florida testing this slage as a Si source also were analyzed for radioactivity. Dry forage yields of fescue and wheat were not affected by slag applications, but those of Swiss chard were somewhat higher on slag-treated soil at pH 5.8. Wheat grain and straw yields were higher on soil at pH 7.2 than at pH 5.8 regardless of slag treatment. Uptake of /sup 226/Ra by fescue forage and wheat grain and straw was not affected by slag application. Concentrations of /sup 226/Ra were similar in forage and extracted juice from untreated sugarcane or that treated with slag at rates up to 5.6 mt/ha. These results suggest that plant uptake of radionuclides is negligible from calcium silicate slag applied at the recommended rates for liming acid soils or as a source of Si for sugarcane.

• Research Organization: Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL
• OSTI ID: 7190519
• Journal Information: Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.; (United States), Journal Name: Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.; (United States) Vol. 17:1; ISSN CSOSA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510300* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM SILICATES
CEREALS
DISTRIBUTION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
GRASS
GROUND DISPOSAL
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIMING
MANAGEMENT
NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM 226
RADIUM ISOTOPES
RESPONSE MODIFYING FACTORS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SLAGS
SOILS
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
UPTAKE
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WHEAT
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES