UPTAKE AND DISTRIBUTION OF RADIOSTRONTIUM IN TOMATO TREATED WITH ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were inoculated into the root system of edible tomato plants to investigate their effect on the uptake and distribution of strontium radionuclide in the tissues of plants grown under laboratory conditions. The experiments were carried out in a sterile mixture of topsoil and sand, where in one series of experiments contaminated soil with 85Sr was used. Seeds were inoculated with a mixture of AMF at sowing, the second, control series was without application of AMF.

Determination of Se using a volatilisation method and liquid scintillation spectrometry.

The operation of nuclear power plants generates large quantities of radioactive materials or waste, which need to be characterised before decommissioning or for final disposal in radioactive waste repositories. The nuclear operators in Slovakia must declare 19 critical radionuclides in all radioactive waste before storage in the regional waste repository. This article describes a simple and rapid method for the determination of one critical radionuclide, Se, in radioactive waste.

Preparation and characterization of MnO- SiO composite resin for Ra pre-concentration in water samples.

The presented work describes an effective method for Ra determination using laboratory- prepared MnO-SiO composite resin. Samples were traced with Ba for radium radiochemical recoveries monitoring which were in the range of (77 - 100%). MnO- SiO composite resin was used to collect for Ra from water samples (pH = 6.

Comparison of different methodologies for the Sr determination in environmental samples.

The paper describes different isolation/separation and detection procedures for Sr determination in the environmental samples which are routinely used in Laboratories A and B. In this context, four different methods for strontium isolation and two methods for detection were tested and compared by Sr determination in proficiency test samples (water, soil, vegetation) and animal bone samples. The chromatographic isolation of Sr on Sr resin, AnaLigSr01 resin gel, strong base anion exchange resins in nitrate form and combination of strong base anion exchange and Sr resin were used for the examination of the impact of sample matrix constituents on efficiency of strontium isolation (chemical yield), while Cherenkov counting of Y and counting of Sr(Y) on proportional counter were used for the quantitative Sr determination.

Development of Sn separation method by means of anion exchange resin and gamma spectroscopy.

This paper describes a method employing anion exchange resin for determination of Sn in radioactive waste. The method is suitable for the separation of Sn isotope from hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid solution. The separation is based on precipitation of tin with ammonium sulfide in 0.

Separation techniques for quantification of radionuclides in environmental samples.

The reliable and quantitative measurement of radionuclides is important in order to determine environmental quality and radiation safety, and to monitor regulatory compliance. We examined soil samples from Podunajske Biskupice, near the city of Bratislava in the Slovak Republic, for the presence of several natural ((238)U, (232)Th, (40)K) and anthropogenic ((137)Cs, (90)Sr, (239)Pu, (240)Pu, (241)Am) radionuclides. The area is adjacent to a refinery and hazardous waste processing center, as well as the municipal incinerator plant, and so might possess an unusually high level of ecotoxic metals.

Proteomic analysis of mature soybean seeds from the Chernobyl area suggests plant adaptation to the contaminated environment.

The explosion in one of the four reactors of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP, Chernobyl) caused the worst nuclear environmental disaster ever seen. Currently, 23 years after the accident, the soil in the close vicinity of CNPP is still significantly contaminated with long-living radioisotopes, such as (137)Cs. Despite this contamination, the plants growing in Chernobyl area were able to adapt to the radioactivity, and survive.