PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “FOOD CONTAMINATION, RADIOACTIVE”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

134Cs and 85Sr in fruit plants following wet aerial deposition.

The knowledge of processes concerning the radiocontamination of fruit after a spike release can improve the understanding of exposure through ingestion of food and better assess the public dose. The fate of 134Cs and 85Sr in the above ground part of different species of fruit plants after wet deposition on leaves or on fruits was compared. Grapevines, apple trees, and pear trees grown under field conditions were contaminated with 134Cs and 85Sr either via leaves or via fruits before ripening. Spiked and non-spiked fruits and leaves were picked 50 d later, at harvest time, and their 134Cs and 85Sr contents were measured by gamma spectrometry. The residual fraction in leaves was on average 7% of the initially applied 134Cs and 8% of 85Sr, while that in fruits was 60% of 134Cs and 28% of 85Sr. Rinsing of fruits before consumption causes a loss of 24% for 134Cs and 36% for 85Sr present in fruit at harvest. Leaf-to-fruit transfer factors are considerably higher for 134Cs, 4% of the applied activity, than for 85Sr, 0.04%. Leaf-to-leaf are also higher on average for 134Cs than for 85Sr. Transfer also occurs from spiked fruits to leaves; its extent is affected more by the kind of plant than by the radionuclide. 134Cs and 85Sr are transferred to fruits and leaves of non-contaminated branches to a lesser extent than within the contaminated branches.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed1993

Caesium radioactivity in several selected species of honey.

In the years following the accident to the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, investigations on several selected species of honey were done to determine their 134,137Cs contamination. Very low caesium activities were found in flower honeys, especially rape honeys. The transfer factor of caesium from the soil to the rape plant (Brassica napus var. oleifera) was found to be fCs = 0.116 +/- 0.080 in 1987, but only fCs = 0.017 +/- 0.017 in 1988, due to the lower availability of the caesium by gradual formation of water-insoluble chemical species. Honeydew honeys show a slightly higher 134,137Cs contamination. Honeydew is often produced by lice setting on spruces. Therefore, needles and twigs of spruces (Picea abies) were investigated and relatively high caesium contamination was found in fresh needles. A transfer factor for caesium from spruce needles to honeydew honey of about 0.1 was estimated. Finally, the caesium contamination in heather honeys and heather plants (Calluna vulgaris) was determined. Surprisingly higher factors between 2 and 40 were obtained for the caesium transfer from soil to Calluna vulgaris. These factors give a good explanation for the relatively high caesium contamination of heather honeys.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗