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Low-level alpha spectrometry techniques using semiconductor detectors (PIPS) and liquid scintillation counters (LKB Quantulus 1220™) were used in order to determine the activity concentration of 238U, 232Th, 234U, 230Th, 226Ra, and 210Pb in soil samples. The soils were collected from an old disused uranium mine located in southwest Spain. The soils were selected with different levels of influence from the installation, in such a way that they had different levels of radioactive contamination. The vertical profiles in the soils (down to 40 cm depth) were studied in order to evaluate the vertical distribution of the natural radionuclides. The possible contamination of subsurface waters depends strongly on vertical migration, and the transfer to plants (herbs, shrubs, and trees) also will depend on the distribution of the radionuclides in the root zone. The study of the activity ratios between radionuclides belonging to the same series allowed us to assess the differing behaviour of the radionuclides involved. The vertical profiles for these radionuclides were different at each sampling point, showing the local impact of the installation. However, the profiles per point were similar for the long-lived radionuclides of the 238TJ series (238U, 234U, 230Th, and 226Ra). Also, a major disequilibrium was observed between 210Pb and 226Ra in the surface layer, due to 222Rn emanation and subsequent surface deposition of 210Pb.

Abstract: The soil-to-plant transfer factors of natural uranium isotopes (238U and 234U), 230Th, 226Ra, and 210Pb were studied in a disused uranium mine located in the Extremadura region in the south-west of Spain. The plant samples included trees (Quercus ilex, Quercus suber, and Eucalyptus cameldulensis) and one shrub (Cytisus multiflorus). All of them are characteristic of Mediterranean environments. The activity concentrations in leaves and fruit were determined for the tree species at different stages of growth. For the shrub, the total above-ground fraction was considered in three seasons. For old leaves and fruit, the highest activity concentrations were found in Eucalyptus cameldulensis for all the radionuclides studied, except in the case of 230Th that presented similar activity concentrations in all of the tree species studied. In every case, the transfer to fruit was less than the transfer to leaves. In the shrub, the results depended on the season of sampling, with the highest value obtained in spring and the lowest in autumn. Important correlations were obtained for 238U and 226Ra between the activity ratio in soils with that in leaves or fruit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Seedlings of Helianthus annuus L. (HA) and Brassica juncea (BJ) were used to test the effect of the pH, the presence of phosphates, and the addition of ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) or citrate on the uptake and the translocation of uranium isotopes (238U, 235U, and 234U) and 226Ra. The results indicated that the presence of phosphates generally reduces the uptake and transfer of uranium from the roots to the shoots of HA. In the case of BJ, while phosphate enhanced the retention of uranium by roots, the translocation was poorer. Likewise, for 226Ra, the best translocation was in the absence of phosphates for both species. The addition of citrate increased the translocation of uranium for both species, but had no clear effect on the transfer of 226Ra. The effect of EDTA was much more moderate both for uranium and for 226Ra, and for both plant species. Only noticeable was a slightly better uptake of 226Ra by BJ at neutral pH, although the translocation was lower. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The influence of soil texture on the distribution and availability of 238U, 230Th, and 226Ra in soils was studied in soil samples collected at a rehabilitated uranium mine located in the Extremadura region in south-west Spain. The activity concentration (Bqkg−1) in the soils ranged from 60 to 750 for 238U, from 60 to 260 for 230Th, and from 70 to 330 for 226Ra. The radionuclide distribution was determined in three soil fractions: coarse sand (0.5–2mm), medium-fine sand (0.067–0.5mm), and silt and clay (<0.067mm). The relative mobility of the natural radionuclides in the different fractions was studied by comparison of the activity ratios between radionuclides belonging to the same radioactive series. The lability of these radionuclides in each fraction was also studied through selective extraction from the soils using a one-step sequential extraction scheme. Significant correlations were found for 238U, 230Th, and 226Ra between the activity concentration per fraction and the total activity concentration in the bulk soil. Thus, from the determination of the activity concentration in the bulk soil, one could estimate the activity concentration in each fraction. Correlations were also found for 238U and 226Ra between the labile activity concentration in each fraction and the total activity concentration in bulk soil. Assuming that there is some particle-size fraction that predominates in the process of soil-to-plant transfer, the parameters obtained in this study should be used as correction factors for the transfer factors determined from the bulk soil in previous studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The elimination of natural uranium and 226Ra from contaminated waters by rhizofiltration was tested using Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower) seedlings growing in a hydroponic medium. Different experiments were designed to determine the optimum age of the seedlings for the remediation process, and also to study the principal way in which the radionuclides are removed from the solution by the sunflower roots. In every trial a precipitate appeared which contained a major fraction of the natural uranium and 226Ra. The results indicated that the seedlings themselves induced the formation of this precipitate. When four-week-old seedlings were exposed to contaminated water, a period of only 2 days was sufficient to remove the natural uranium and 226Ra from the solution: about 50% of the natural uranium and 70% of the 226Ra were fixed in the roots, and essentially the rest was found in the precipitate, with only very small percentages fixed in the shoots and left in solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The linearity assumption for soil and plant concentrations of radionuclides is usually a good approximation for use in food-chain models. To verify this assumption, different samples of plant and substrate were collected from a granitic zone located near a disused uranium mine in order to cover a large range of concentrations. In all of the samples, the activity concentration of 226Ra and of different isotopes of uranium (238U and 234U) and thorium (232Th, 230Th and 228Th) were determined. The results indicate that the linearity assumption can be considered valid when the range of concentrations taken into account is large (approx. two orders of magnitude). Otherwise, there is a clear deviation from linearity. Also, the influence of different stable elements on the soil–plant transfer factors was studied by using multivariate regression methods. The uptake of uranium, thorium and radium was found to be mainly associated with the concentration of iron in the plant and the phosphorus and alkaline earths in the substrate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]