COMPARISON OF THE UPTAKE 133CS IN SUNFLOWER AND REEDS FROM THREE DIFFERENT SOIL TYPES (PEAT, HUMUS AND CLAY)

References: 14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014, www.sgem.org, SGEM2014 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7105-18-6 / ISSN 1314-2704, June 19-25, 2014, Book 5, Vol. 2, 147-154 pp

ABSTRACT
Radionuclides enter into the many ecosystems, although their presence in organisms is not required. Due to radiation the quality of life of various organisms decrease. Radionuclides belonging to the anthropogenic group are mainly coming from the used nuclear fuel as 90Sr, 131I, 137Cs. This last one (137Cs) has a nonradioactive isotope occurring in a small amount in nature. This nonradioactive isotope 133Cs was used in our experiment because there is no difference in uptake of stable and radioactive elements by plants. Anthropogenic radionuclides and their occurrence could be expected near atomic plants, during normal operations in a small amount and during an accident in a significant amount. In our study we compared uptake of 133Cs by plants cultivated in three different soil types: peat, humus and clay. The selection of plant species was based according to those found in the area around the nuclear power plant in Temelín – Helianthus annuus L. and Phragmites australis. These plants were cultivated in greenhouses in pots with regular irrigation. The solution of ¼ Hoagland was used as a fertilizer. Plants were exposed to Cs, added in the form of CsCl, for 20 days. All samples were analysed with ICP-MS. The pH and the content of organic carbon were measured in the soil. Our results show higher accumulation of 133Cs in Helianthus annuus L. cultivated on all mentioned soil types. The highest accumulation was observed in plants cultivated in peat soil.

Keywords: phytoremediation, stable isotope, earth, annual plant, perennial perennial plant