• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.90-95
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• 2012

A radio-tracer experiment was performed in a greenhouse to investigate the effectiveness of the simultaneous application of K and Ca as a countermeasure for reducing the radiocaesium and radiostrontium uptake by rice. Paddy soil (loam of pH 6.5) in soil boxes was spiked with $^{137}Cs$ and $^{85}Sr$, and treated with K and Ca in the forms of KCl and $Ca(OH)_2$, respectively, at agrochemical grades before transplanting. For the seeds of the control plants, soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF, $m^2\;kg^{-1}-dry$) of $^{137}Cs$ and $^{85}Sr$ were $7.4{\times}10^{-5}$ and $2.1{\times}10^{-4}$, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for the straws were $2.6{\times}10^{-4}$ and $2.2{\times}10^{-2}$, respectively. The TF values of $^{137}Cs$ and $^{85}Sr$ kept decreasing as the level of the simultaneous application of K and Ca (K/Ca, $g\;m^{-2}$) increased up to 33.6/322 and 48.0/460, respectively. The maximum rate of the decrease was around 60% for both radionuclides. Nearly 60% reduction in the TF value of $^{85}Sr$ was observed even at the dosage of 33.6/322, which was considered the optimum dosage based on crop productivity as well as reduction in the radiocaesium and radiostrontium uptake by rice. The optimum dosage may depend on various factors so further experiments need to be made for many different conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.331-332
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• 2019

• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.388-395
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• 2018

Radionuclides were deposited at forest areas in eastern parts of Japan following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident in March 2011. Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi have important effects on radiocaesium dynamics in forest ecosystems. We examined the effect of colonization by the EM fungus Astraeus hygrometricus on the uptake of cesium (Cs) and potassium (K) by Pinus densiflora seedlings. Pine seedlings exhibited enhanced growth after the EM formation due to the colonization by A. hygrometricus. Additionally, the shoot Cs concentration increased after the EM formation when Cs was not added to the medium. This suggests that A. hygrometricus might be able to solubilize Cs fixed to soil particles. Moreover, the shoot K concentration increased significantly after the EM formation when Cs was added. However, there were no significant differences in the root K concentration between EM and non-EM seedlings. These results suggest that different mechanisms control the transfer of Cs and K from the root to the shoot of pine seedlings.