[Editors note: plants absorb contaminants, so in radiological areas it is important to not landscape them, that by doing so spreads the radition or contaminates into the ecosystemand food chain. Extensive testing in this area was extensively conducted to determine the extent of the contamination. ]
“It has been found that barley and pea plants take up the fission elements Y (yttrium), Ce (cerium), Zr (zirconium) + Cb (columbium), Te (tellurium), Sr (strontium), and the three valence states of Pu (plutonium), even when these elements are present in trace amounts on the surfaces of clay or soil particles. For all the elements tested, the greatest fixation is in or on the roots. With the exception of Sr, translocation occurs only to a limited extent. The trans- location of Sr is relatively quite large. Activity levels of 0.1 microcuries per gram of soil are sufficient to cause very pronounced injury over a three-months period. (Technical Information Pilot, Sc. and Technol. Proj. by Library of Congress for Office of Naval Research, 13 Aug. ’48. Abstract furnished by Atomic Energy Commission of article by L. Jacobson and R. Overstreet)”
Citation: 24 Medical News Letter, Vol. 12, No. 6 Friday, 10 September 1948 p. 24 https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b364858?urlappend=%3Bseq=210
Disaster Area 