title: Inter-cultivar variation in soil-to-plant transfer of radiocaesium and radiostrontium in Brassica oleracea.
abstract: Radiocaesium and radiostrontium enter the human food chain primarily via soil-plant transfer. However, uptake of these radionuclides can differ significantly within species (between cultivars). The aim of this study was to assess inter-cultivar variation in soil-to-plant transfer of radiocaesium and radiostrontium in a leafy crop species, Brassica oleracea. This study comprised four independent experiments: two pot experiments in a controlled environment artificially contaminated with radiocaesium, and two field experiments in an area contaminated with radiocaesium and radiostrontium in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Radiocaesium concentration ratios varied 35-fold among 27 cultivars grown in pots in a controlled environment. These 27 cultivars were then grown with a further 44 and 43 other cultivars in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in 2003 and 2004, respectively. In the field-grown cultivars radiocaesium concentration ratios varied by up to 35-fold and radiostrontium concentration ratios varied by up to 23-fold. In three of these experiments (one pot experiment, two field experiments) one out of the 27 cultivars was found to have a consistently lower radiocaesium concentration ratio than the other cultivars. The two field experiments showed that, five out of the 66 cultivars common to both experiments had consistently lower radiocaesium concentration ratios, and two cultivars had consistently lower radiostrontium concentration ratios. One cultivar had consistently lower radiocaesium and radiostrontium concentration ratios. The identification of cultivars that have consistently lower radiocaesium and/or radiostrontium concentration ratios suggests that cultivar selection or substitution may be an effective remediation strategy in radiologically contaminated areas. Future research should focus on plant species that are known to be the largest contributors to human dose.
authors.affiliation: NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK; School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK. Electronic address: betpen32@ceh.ac.uk.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Penrose
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK; Horticulture Research International (now University of Warwick), Wellesbourne CV35 9EF, UK.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Johnson Née Payne
authors.affiliation: Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arkhipov
authors.affiliation: Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology, Slavutych, Kiev Region, Ukraine.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maksimenko
authors.affiliation: Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology, Slavutych, Kiev Region, Ukraine.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaschak
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Meacham
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: N J M
authors.initials: NJM
authors.lastname: Crout
authors.affiliation: The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK; Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Program, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Beresford
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Broadley
mesh_terms: D001937:Brassica / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D020387:Food Chain; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes
keywords: Caesium; Inter-cultivar variation; Plant; Remediation; Strontium