Predictive model for the (14)C radioactivity in a plant following an exposure to airborne (14)CO(2) gas.
This paper provides details of a dynamic compartment model for estimating the (14)C radioactivity in an agricultural plant exposed to an amount of airborne (14)CO(2) gas. The plant, in the model, is divided into two compartments, the plant body (shoot and root) and ears, to predict the radioactivity of different parts of a plant. The carbon transports from, to and between the compartments are described by the processes of a photosynthesis, respiration, and translocation. The carbon transport fluxes of these processes are determined from the growth rates of a plant, which are usually easily attained. The model predictions showed that the present model could converge to a region where the specific activity model is applicable when the elapsed exposure time was extended up to the harvest time of a plant. The (14)C activity of a plant was greatly affected by the elapsed exposure time, the developmental stages of a plant at an exposure time, and the airborne (14)C activity during an exposure. It was expected that the peak of the ears' (14)C activity appeared when the exposure time was close to the ears-maturity date. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with the measured (14)C radioactivity of the rice plants that were artificially exposed to (14)CO(2) of a high (14)C source for a short period of time in an exposure box.
Keum
Dong-Kwon
DK
Nuclear Environmental Safety Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 150 Deokjindong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353, Republic of Korea. dkkeum@kaeri.re.kr
Jun
In
I
Lim
Kang-Muk
KM
Choi
Young-Ho
YH
Lee
Chang-Woo
CW
D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D005740:Gases; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005740:Gases; D002245:Carbon Dioxide