Soil-to-plant transfer factors of radium for different types of plants as influenced by clay content, organic matter content and radium partition in the soil

Abstract

Twelve plant and corresponding soil samples were collected in twelve agricultural fields in Vietnam for analysis. The ²²⁶Ra activity concentrations (AC) varied from 24.5 to 43.1 Bq/kg (dry weight) in soil samples and 1.4–13.2 Bq/kg (dry weight) in plant samples. For seven studied plants, the soil-to-plant transfer factors of radium (TF) varied from 0.032 to 0.439 depending on plant types and the physicochemical properties of the soil. Some relationships were found between ²²⁶Ra TF and the properties of soil. TF positively correlated with clay content in soil (Pearson correlation coefficient (r) =  − 0.63) and organic matter (OM) in soil (r =  − 0.60). A negative correlation was found between TF and AC of ²²⁶Ra in porewater of soil (r = 0.66).