Effective and ecological half-lives of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs observed in wheat and rice in Japan

authored by

Stefan Merz, Katsumi Shozugawa, Georg Steinhauser

Abstract

Published pre-Fukushima food monitoring data from 1963 to 1995 were used to study the long-term presence of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr in rice and wheat. Effective half-lives (T_eff) were calculated for rice (¹³⁷Cs: 5.6 years; ⁹⁰Sr: 6.7 years) and wheat (¹³⁷Cs: 3.5 years; ⁹⁰Sr: 6.2 years), respectively. In rice, ¹³⁷Cs exhibits a longer T_eff because putrefaction processes will lead to the formation of NH₄ ⁺ ions that are efficient ion exchangers for mineral-adsorbed cesium ions, hence making it more readily available to the plant. Knowledge on the long-term behavior of radiocesium and radiostrontium will be important for Japanese food-safety campaigns after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Organisation(s)

Centre for Radiation Protection and Radioecology

External Organisation(s)

TU Wien (TUW)
University of Tokyo
Colorado State University
Fukushima University

Type

Article

Journal

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

Volume

307

Pages

1807-1810

No. of pages

4

ISSN

0236-5731

Publication date

01.03.2016

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Analytical Chemistry, Nuclear Energy and Engineering, Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging, Pollution, Spectroscopy, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4352-6 (Access: Open)