Using chemical fractionation and speciation to describe uptake of technetium, iodine and selenium by Agrostis capillaris and Lolium perenne.

J Environ Radioact

School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, United Kingdom.

Published: February 2020

To understand the dynamic mechanisms governing soil-to-plant transfer of selenium (Se), technetium-99 (Tc) and iodine (I), a pot experiment was undertaken using 30 contrasting soils after spiking with Se, Tc and I, and incubating for 2.5 years. Two grass species (Agrostis capillaris and Lolium perenne) were grown under controlled conditions for 4 months with 3 cuts at approximately monthly intervals. Native (soil-derived) Se andI, as well as spiked Se, Tc and I, were assayed in soil and plants by ICP-MS. The grasses exhibited similar behaviour with respect to uptake of all three elements. The greatest uptake observed was for Tc, followed by Se, with least uptake of I, reflecting the transformations and interactions with soil of the three isotopes. Unlike soil-derived Se and I, the available pools of Se, Tc and I were substantially depleted by plant uptake across the three cuts with lower concentrations observed in plant tissues in each subsequent cut. Comparison between total plant offtake and various soil species suggested that SeO, TcO and IO, in soluble and adsorbed fractions were the most likely plant-available species. A greater ratio of I/I in the soil solid phase compared to the solution phase confirmed incomplete mixing of spiked I with native I in the soil, despite the extended incubation period, leading to poor buffering of the spiked available pools. Compared to traditional expressions of soil-plant transfer factor (TF), a transfer factor (TF) expressed using volumetric concentrations of speciated 'available' fractions of each element showed little variation with soil properties.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106131DOI Listing

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