Transfer of radionuclides to crops in an area of land reclaimed from the sea

An area of reclaimed land on the Lancashire coast of the UK has been used to provide data on transfer parameters in foodchains when the activity is almost entirely of marine origin. This paper summarises the results of a study of the transfer of 137Cs, 90Sr, 239,240Pu, 241Am and 99Tc to several groups of crops, including green vegetables, potatoes and cereals. For some of these radionuclides, the work adds significantly to the data that are presently available. In many cases, the observed transfer factors were generally close to or slightly lower than values derived from the application of radionuclides to soil in a soluble form. The use of the current default values in the NRPB model FARMLAND for radiological assessments of the introduction of activity of marine origin into the terrestrial environment would not be unduly cautious.