A Study of 226Ra Concentration Ratios for Leafy Vegetables

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo, 11762, P.O.Box 7551, Egypt

2 Nuclear and radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo

3 Quality Assurance Dep., Nuclear and radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the factors that influence the 226Ra uptake by two types of leafy vegetables collected from different farms in Al Sharqiya region in Saudi Arabia with their corresponding soils and irrigation waters. Quality assurance and validation of the radioanalyses for the different samples matrices were carried out. It was a reasonable approach to determine the 226Ra concentration ratios on the basis of both the exchangeable and total 226Ra content in the soils. It was found that the activity concentration of 226Ra in soils is independent on its corresponding activities in irrigation water but correlates well with the soil content of clay and silt. No significant dependency of the 226Ra concentration ratios for the studied vegetables on the radium total activities in soils. Good negative correlations were found between the organic matter content of soils and the concentration ratios of 226Ra in cabbage and lettuce. Some variations of the 226Ra uptake were found through the two leafy vegetables which may be explained by other factors related to the metabolic characteristics of the plant species. The 226Ra concentration ratios based on the exchangeable radium leached from soil for cabbage and lettuce were found to be higher than those determined on the basis of its total activity in soil. The exchangeable 226Ra may contribute for a better understanding of its uptake by leafy vegetables in these farms.

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