List of Data Units

PRESENTATION OF DATA
The basic units of the International System (SI units) are used in this book. Mean
contents refer to arithmetic mean values, unless otherwise stated.
The concentrations of a trace element in soil, plant, human, and animal samples
are based on the total content by weight of the element in air-dried or oven-dried
(at 40°C) material. Otherwise it is indicated as follows: AW (ash weight) and FW
(fresh weight).
Trace element contents of soils are given for the top layer, unless otherwise indicated. If not identified, the content of an element in samples is given as so-called
total, which means that it is measured in totally digested samples or measured
directly in a sample.
UNITS
Bq
becquerel
Ci curie 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10 10  Bq
g
gram (10 –3  kg)
ha
hectare (10,000 m 2 )
kBq
kilobecquerel
kg
kilogram (10 3  g)
kt
thousand metric ton (10 3  t)
L
liter (1 dm 3 )
mCi
millicurie
μg
microgram (10 –3  mg)
mg
milligram (10 –3  g)
Mt
million metric ton (10 3  kt)
nCi
nanocurie
pCi
picocurie
t
metric ton (10 3  kg)
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