Accumulation of radionuclides by plants as a monitor system

The accumulation of radionuclides by plants acting as a monitoring system in the environment may occur by two modes; foliar absorption by the leaves and shoot of the plant, or by root uptake from the soil. Data on plant accumulation of radionuclides may be obtained from studies of fission product radionuclides deposited as worldwide fallout, and from tracer studies of plant physiology. The epidermal features of plant foliage may exert an effect upon particle retention by leaves, and subsequent uptake of radionuclides from the surface. The transport of radionuclides across the cuticle and epidermis of plant leaves is determined in part by the anatomy of the leaf, and by physiological factors. The foliar uptake of fallout radionuclides, 99Sr, 131I, and 137Cs, is described with examples from the scientific literature. The environmental half-life of 131I, for example, is considerably shorter than its physical half-life because of physical and biological factors which may produce a half-life as short as 0.23/day. 99Sr and 137Cs are readily taken up by the leaf, but 137Cs undergoes more translocation into fruit and seeds than 99Sr which tends to remain in the plant part in which it was initially absorbed. Soil-root uptake is conditioned primarily by soil chemical and physical factors which may selectively retain a radionuclide, such as 137Cs. The presence of organic matter, inorganic colloids (clay), and competing elements will strongly affect the uptake of 99Sr and 137Cs by plants from the soil. The role of plants as monitors of radionuclides is twofold: as monitors of recent atmospheric releases of radionuclides; and as indicators of the long-term behavior of aged deposits of radionuclides in the soil.