Evaluation of the radioactive Cs concentration in brown rice based on the K nutritional status of shoots

The radioactive cesium ((134,137)Cs) concentration in brown rice is correlated with that in the straw/husk. The distribution of (134,137)Cs, resembles that of potassium (K), a homologous element of Cs, in the rice plant body. The relative isotopic abundance of (40)K is 0.0117 %; thus, 1 g K contains 30.4 Bq ⁴⁰K, and the mass of 4,000 Bq (40)K is 0.0154 g, indicating that the K concentration can be calculated from (40)K concentration. We examined if the radioactive Cs concentration in brown rice can be estimated from (40)K concentrations in straw, and especially might be predicted from the (40)K:(134,137)Cs ratio in straw. We determined the concentrations of (40)K and radioactive Cs in straw and brown rice, and found a strong correlated-equation (y = 72.922 x(-0.759); r = 0.907) between the radioactive Cs concentration in brown rice and the ⁴⁰K:(134,137)Cs ratio in straw. The estimated-radioactive Cs concentration in brown rice can be as much as double, depending on the K nutritional status changing the ⁴⁰K:(134,137)Cs ratio in straw. We herein propose a nutritional diagnosis that radioactive Cs concentrations in brown rice can be predicted from the ⁴⁰K:(134,137)Cs ratio in shoots.