Radium-226 content of agricultural gypsums
Gypsum (CaSO/sub 4/ . 2H/sub 2/O), used as a soil amendment for saline-alkali soils, is obtained either by quarrying or as a by-product in the phosphate fertilizer industry. The latter, termed phospho gypsum, contains variable amounts of /sup 226/Ra, depending on the uranium content of the phosphate rock. Radium-226 contents of both quarried and phospho gypsum were determined by gamma counting in a low-background Ge(Li) spectrometer equipped with Compton suppression. Quarried samples from Nova Scotia, Iowa, Texas, and California were compared with phospho gypsum derived from Florida land pebble phosphates. Quarried gypsums showed an average radium content of 0.21 pCi/g. The average radium in phospho gypsum was 14.6 pCi/g. Uranium-238 measurements showed that near secular equilibrium existed between the uranium and radium in the quarried samples. Disequilibrium in the phospho gypsums occurred because of the preferential separation of radium during chemical processing. At the levels observed, no health hazard is implied from uptake of radium by plants grown in phospho gypsum treated soil.
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 7256448
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-78720; CONF-770208-2; TRN: 77-012235
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Symposium on public health aspects of radioactivity in consumer products, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2 Feb 1977
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GYPSUM
NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY
RADIUM 226
ROOT ABSORPTION
AGRICULTURE
CROPS
PLANTS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOMASS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM SULFATES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
MINERALS
NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM ISOTOPES
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
UPTAKE
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560163* - Radionuclide Effects-Internal Source- Plants- (-1987)
553000 - Agriculture & Food Technology
510300 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)