Chapters authored
Radioactive Isotopes in Soils and Their Impact on Plant Growth
In 1999, Serbia was bombarded by NATO. One of the cities most affected by the consequences of bombardment with uranium is the city of Vranje, where the consequences are felt even today. Due to the influence of uranium, the mortality rate has increased. This paper presents the effects of some of the radionuclides that have contaminated the soil, as well as the connection between soil and plants that grow on that soil. The performed measurements of radionuclides (226Ra, 40K, 232Th, 238U, and 235U). The results show that the content of each of these radionuclides has different concentrations, but what is important is that some values are even below the detection limit, corn <0.06 235U on the location Korbevac and wheat <0.04 235U on the location Bujkovac. On the three and all of these gated locations, the calculated values of the transfer factors for 40K were in the range of 0.144–0.392, while in the case of 226Ra, the transfer factors ranged from 0.008 to 0.074. Only one value (0.051) was obtained for the transfer factor of 232Th. Specific activities of 137Cs, as well as uranium isotopes, in all the investigated cereal samples, were below minimal detectable activity concentrations. The ratio of radionuclides in soil and plants is of great importance for human nutrition.
Part of the book: Metals in Soil