• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.135-141
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• 2008

This paper describes a dynamic compartment model to predict the time-dependent $^{14}C$ activity in a plant as a result of a direct exposure to an amount of $^{14}CO_2$ for a short period of time, and experimental results for the model validation. In the model, the plant consists of two compartments of the body and ears, and five carbon fluxes between the compartments, which are the function of parameters relating to the growth and photosynthesis of a plant, are considered. Model predictions were made for an investigation into the effects of the exposure time, the elapsed exposure time, and the model parameters on the $^{14}C$ radioactivity of a plant. The present model converged to a region where the specific activity model is applicable when the elapsed time of the exposure was extended up to the harvest time of a plant. The $^{14}C$ activity of a plant was predicted to be the greatest when the exposure had happened in the period between the flowering and ears-maturity on account of the most vigorous photosynthesis rate for the period. Comparison of model predictions with the observed 14C radioactivity of rice plants showed that the present model could predict the $^{14}C$ radioactivity of the rice plants reasonably well.