Transfer of radionuclides to vegetable and other crops grown on land reclaimed from the sea

An area of reclaimed land on the Lancashire coast has been used to grow a wide range of crops to provide data on transfer parameters of radionuclides in foodchains when the activity is almost entirely of marine origin. Activity concentrations in the foodstuffs were low and not of radiological significance. However, meaningful results could be obtained if large sample sizes were employed. This paper sets out the methodology applied to a substantial field investigation of transfer to vegetable crops. The large sample sizes could be accommodated adequately with only minor modifications to established analytical procedures. The results of the study are discussed briefly. Since the growing conditions were virtually identical for each crop, comparisons of transfer factors between the different crops should therefore be valid. For some radionuclides, notably 239,240Pu, 241Am and 99Tc, the work has added significantly to the data that are presently available. For most of the radionuclides studied, uptake by crops could be adequately predicted using the parameter values currently used in generic assessments, but for 99Tc, lower values would be more appropriate.