A. Baeza

Radiocaesium and natural gamma emitters in mushrooms collected in Spain.

Mushrooms can accumulate heavy metals in general, including radionuclides found in the nature. However, little attention has been paid to the radioactive content of mushrooms collected in Spain and the dose for the population due to their ingestion. To address this, we analysed the contents of 137Cs, 40K, 226Ra and 7Be present in different species of mushrooms, according to their genus and nutritional mechanism. We observed that mycorrhizal mushrooms accumulate 137Cs more than saprophytes, and vice versa for 7Be. 40K and 226Ra are accumulated to the same degree by the two groups of mushrooms. We estimated the dose due to ingestion of mushrooms in Spain to be 2 microSv/year, and the contribution of 40K and 226Ra to be generally greater than that of 137Cs. The contribution of 137Cs to the dose was calculated by taking into account the results of an experiment carried out under the controlled laboratory conditions, which showed that approximately 98% of 134Cs was associated with the readily digestible fraction of the mushrooms.

Plutonium and other alpha emitters in mushrooms from Poland, Spain and Ukraine.

The paper presents results on Pu, U and Th isotope activity concentration measurements in some mushroom samples collected in Poland, Spain and Ukraine. The sampling sites differ a lot with regard to observed levels of Pu, its origin and isotope ratios as well as the environmental properties. Some of the Polish samples were collected in the northeastern part of the country with up to 30 Bq/m2 of Chernobyl Pu deposition. Other Polish and the Spanish samples are from areas with almost exclusively global fallout Pu present. Ukrainian samples were collected in a highly contaminated area with a deposition of about 3.7 kBq/m2 of Chernobyl (239-240)Pu. The maximum (239+240)Pu activity concentration was found equal to (54+/-4) Bq/kg (dw--dry weight) for a Ukrainian Cantharellus cibarius sample. Ukrainian samples have an extremely high radiocesium level, with maximum of (51+/-4) MBq/kg (dw). The maximum (239+240)Pu activity concentration for Polish samples was (81+/-5) mBq/kg (dw) for Xerocomus badius. From the isotopic ratio in this sample it can be concluded that Chernobyl fallout is the origin of Pu. More than twice as large was the Spanish maximum for Hebeloma cylindrosporum but with only global fallout Pu. Some aspects of the transfer of nuclides to fruit bodies is discussed and in some cases the transfer factors or aggregation coefficients were calculated. Especially high transfer factors were found for Hebeloma cylindrosporum from Spain.

Influence of geology and soil particle size on the surface-area/volume activity ratio for natural radionuclides

The radioactive concentrations of226Ra,232Th,235U and40K in surface soil of the province of Cáceres (Spain) were studied as a function of the geology and grain size. The activities of the four radionuclides in granitic and metamorphic soils have normal frequency distributions, with the mean value being significantly higher for the granitic soils than for the metamorphic soils. Sedimentary soils present asymmetric distributions, and their activities lie between the previous two types. The specific activities of the four radionuclides rises as the particle radius decreases. The equationAe=(P1/R)+P2 describes the dependence of the specific activityAe on radiusR, P1 andP2 being parameters that are related to the surface area and volume activities of the grains. The isotopes226Ra,232Th and235U accumulate with greater intensity on the surface of the grains than40K. This effect is more pronounced in granitic and sedimentary soils than in metamorphic soils.

Analysis of the temporal evolution of atmospheric7Be as a vector of the behavior of other radionuclides in the atmosphere

The mean weekly levels of7Be in the atmosphere of Cáceres (Spain) was measured for three consecutive years, from 1992 to 1994. The values showed a strongly seasonal behavior, conditioned fundamentally by two effects: (1) the incorporation of7Be into the low layers of the troposphere due to the displacement of masses of air from higher layers caused by the solar irradiation, and (2) the washing of7Be out of the atmosphere by rain. From the quantification of these two effects, the residence time of7Be was determined in the atmosphere at ground level as 10.3 days, with an interval for the standard error of 9.0 and 12.1 days. Modelling the temporal evolution of this radionuclide we were able to explain 90.72% of the variance of the measured activity levels. Using the effective residence time of7Be, we were able to justify the diversity of values obtained for the deposition of137Cs in different soils of the province of Cáceres due to the fallout from atmospheric nuclear blasts.

Natural radionuclide distribution in soils of Cáceres (Spain): Dosimetry implications

Abstract Levels of exposure to natural radiation have been calculated from the concentrations of natural gamma-emitting radionuclides present in the soils of the province of Caceres (Spain). The objective was to estimate the external radiation dose received by the population as a function of the place of residence, and then to draw the corresponding natural exposure rate map for the region under study. For this purpose, 263 soil samples were collected from points uniformly distributed throughout the geography of the zone. These were analysed using gamma spectrometry. The mean specific activities of 226 Ra, 235 U, 232 Th and 40 K were 38.3, 3.06, 41.0 and 653 Bq kg −1 dry weight, respectively, and the isoactivity maps for each isotope showed that the greatest concentrations occurred in granitic zones. The average value of the outdoor absorbed dose rate in air was 56.6 nGy h −1 , corresponding to an annual effective dose equivalent of 429 μSv. The range of these values is very broad, varying from a minimum of 9 nGy h −1 to a maximum of 8320 nGy h −1 in the vicinity of a uranium mine.

Factors determining the radioactivity levels of waters in the province of Cáceres (Spain).

In an extensive study of different types of water in the province of Cáceres (Spain) in order to determine their total alpha- and total beta-radioactivity contents, several factors were found to have a decisive influence on their radioactivity levels. Thus, parameters such as total hardness and pH can be determinative according to the lithological type of the aquifer or according to the subterranean or surface origin of the hydrological resource. Waters from classic lithologies, or originating from a well, possess above-average radioactivity indices, surpassing in numerous cases the indicative levels set by current Spanish legislation. In contrast, surface waters from rivers, in practically all cases, possess below-average radioactivity indices.

Surface and depth fallout distribution of137Cs and90Sr in soils of Caceres (Spain). Dose commitments due to external irradiation

An analysis has been made of the surface distribution of137Cs and90Sr in soils of the province of Cáceres (Spain), of some 20.000 km2 area, situated on the frontier with Portugal. From the distribution of depth profiles of concentrations of these radionuclides and their fit to a negative exponential, determination was made of the mean values of the respective inventories and of the corresponding137Cs/90Sr ratio. The external dose rates from the presence of these man-made isotopes in the soil are calculated and compared with that originating from the concentrations of natural radioisotopes.

Determining factors in the elimination of uranium and radium from groundwaters during a standard potabilization process

We studied the physico-chemical and radioactive characteristics of four waters of subsurface origin. They were chosen for having the highest natural radioactivity levels of waters for human consumption in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Spain Their activity levels for alpha emitting radionuclides are between 120 and 19300 mBq L(-1), all exceeding the 100 mBq L(-1) threshold established in the European Union above which radioactive isotopes that are present in water should be investigated to determine which corrective action, if any, is needed. These waters were used to compare the efficiency in eliminating their uranium and radium content of two potabilization processes - one the standard chlorination-only process used by their respective municipalities, and the other a procedure consisting of coagulation, flocculation, settling, filtration, and chlorination stages, specifically designed to maximize the elimination of their natural radioactive content. The results showed the uranium and radium elimination efficiencies to depend strongly on the waters hydrogencarbonate, calcium, and magnesium ion concentrations. In particular, with increasing concentrations of any of these ions, the uranium elimination efficiency fell from 90% to 60% at its optimal working pH, pH=6, while the radium elimination efficiency rose from 50% to 90% at its optimal working pH, pH=10.

Influence of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident on Spanish environmental radioactivity levels

This paper presents measurements of the effect of the atmospheric radioactive release from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station at three sites belonging to the Spanish environmental monitoring system. Measured values varied depending on the locations of the sites in Spain and their respective climatic characteristics. (134)Cs, (136)Cs, (137)Cs, (131)I, and (132)Te activity concentrations in filter samples were studied and associated levels of (131)I fallout were estimated from wet and dry deposition. Particulate aerosol activity concentrations ranges, in μBq/m(3), were 1.63-3080 ((131)I), 2.8-690 ((137)Cs), 1.3-620 ((134)Cs) and 3.6-330 ((132)Te), while the associated (131)I fallout was roughly estimated to be less than 20 Bq/m(2), Gaseous (131)I was also detected and the (131)I-gaseous/(131)I-total ratio increased at the three stations from approximately 0.75 at the end of March to 0.85-0.9 during the first few days of April. Finally, the presence of (131)I in some crucial parts of the food chain was also studied. (131)I was detected in samples from goats and cows milk (maximum levels of 1.11 Bq/L) and in broadleaf plants (maximum level 1.42 Bq/kg).

Seasonal variations in radionuclide transfer in a Mediterranean grazing-land ecosystem

We made quarterly determinations of the transfer coefficients and effective transfer coefficients for the radionuclides 137Cs, 90Sr, 40K, 226Ra, 228Ra and 228Th over a full annual cycle, in a Mediterranean grazing-land ecosystem. The input and output fluxes of the radionuclides between the different compartments of this ecosystem were quantified for the following processes: root uptake; variation in root and aerial biomass; pasture production; translocation; leaf fall; efflux due to grazing action; resuspension and subsequent aerial deposition of radionuclides. We observed there to be a marked seasonal variation for this type of ecosystem in both the transfer coefficients and the radionuclide fluxes, which impedes the soil-plant transfer being characterized on the basis of values that are constant with time.