Silver-110 m in marine organisms, soil and vegetables of Hong Kong

Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong

Abstract

^110mAg is a fission product inside nuclear reactors and can be released into the environment during accidents. In this study, accumulation and transfer of ^110mAg in simulated marine and terrestrial ecosystems were studied. The kinetic behavior of ^110mAg in the system was summarized. It is noted that most of the ^110mAg accumulated in the sediment and seashore mollusks can absorb more ^110mAg than fish. Accumulation and transfer of ^110mAg in terrestrial ecosystems were studied in pot culture approach where vegetables such as lettuces, spinach, kale, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, egg plants and beans were cultured in soil that contains ^110mAg in 10 Bq g_soil^-1. Edible vegetable samples were collected and measured at different growth stages. The transfer factors were calculated. The results showed that ^110mAg could be transferred from soil into plants, and spinach may be a critical vegetable. The leaching and migration of ^110mAg in soils were also studied by soil column experiments. Results show that there is no ^110mAg in leaching water and most of it stays in the topsoil of 2 cm deep, and ^110mAg vertical migration is little. A computer model based on ECOSYS-87 to simulate the transport of ^110mAg in the different compartments along the routes will be developed.