Accumulation of artificial radionuclides by edible wild mushrooms and berries in the forests of the central part of the Krasnoyarskii Krai

Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Abstract

The study addresses accumulation of radionuclides by mushrooms and berry shrubs from the forest soil in the 30-km area around the MCC (the Krasnoyarskii Krai, Russia). The Suillus granulatus and S. luteus mushrooms have been found to be the best bioindicators in this area. The level of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in these species can reach 10 kBq/kg dry mass. The ¹³⁷Cs transfer factor (TF) by the mushrooms varies 5-fold among the sites that receive radionuclides from different sources. The level of radionuclide activities accumulated by berry shrubs is 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than the activities accumulated by mushrooms. No relationship has been found between the TFs of radionuclides to the shrubs and the pathway via which the radionuclides enter the soil. The contribution of the dose due to intake of mushrooms and berries to the annual effective dose of internal exposure to residents does not exceed 150 μSv/year and 1.4 μSv/year, respectively, estimated from the registered levels of accumulated ¹³⁷Cs.