127
After the harvest, soil and plant (grain and straw) samples were taken to determine their contents of
238
U. Uranium in soil was determined by the photometric
method with arsenazo III (Savvin 1971). Neutron activation analysis on
238
U determined its content in plant samples after their drying and grinding and after the
irradiation with above-thermal neutrons in the integral flux (0.3−1.2) × 10
15
neutrons cm
−2
.
Aggregated transfer factor (TF), the calculated value, was used as the parameter
of
238
U transfer to crops:
TF
The concentration of U in the air dry weight of plants Bq kg
=
−
238
1
,
S Soil contamination density of U kBqm
238
2
,
−
4.1 The Effect of Mineral Fertilisers on the Accumulation
of
238
U in the Barley Crop on the Main Types of Soils
of the Non-chernozem Zone
An experiment with spring barley to study the effect of mineral fertilisers on the
accumulation of
238
U in the crop was carried out in model-field conditions in plastic
boxes (50 × 50 × 50 cm) without a bottom on sod-podzolic soils of different textures
and varying degrees of cultivation (No. 1–5), grey forest soils (No. 6) and leached
chernozem (No. 7). Agrochemical characteristics of soils are presented in Table 7.
The soil for field experiments was selected from the arable layer (0–25 cm) in the
aligned areas, where cereal crops were cultivated with the application of mineral
Table 7 Agrochemical properties of soils
No. Soil
pH KCl
Humus,
%
P 2 O 5 K 2 O
Hydrolytic
acidity
Ca Mg
mg kg
−1 of
soil
mg-eq (100 g of soil)
−1
1 Sod-podzolic sandy loam
(Vladimir region)
5.6
1.0
97
83 1.2
3.2 0.3
2 Sod-podzolic sandy loam
(Moscow region)
4.3
1.1
77
37 4.8
2.5 0.2
3 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Moscow region)
4.5
1.2
101
88 4.4
7.6 0.8
4 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Kaluga region)
5.2
1.5
145
120 2.9
8.9 0.9
5 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Moscow region)
5.6
2.2
129
108 1.9
7.5 0.8
6 Grey forest medium loamy
(Kaluga region)
5.4
2.2
138
108 1.2
14.0 8.5
7 Leached medium loamy
chernozem (Tula region)
5.3
5.1
153
126 0.95
17.5 9.7
The Behaviour of Uranium in Soils and the Mechanisms of Its Accumulation…
After the harvest, soil and plant (grain and straw) samples were taken to determine their contents of
238
U. Uranium in soil was determined by the photometric
method with arsenazo III (Savvin 1971). Neutron activation analysis on
238
U determined its content in plant samples after their drying and grinding and after the
irradiation with above-thermal neutrons in the integral flux (0.3−1.2) × 10
15
neutrons cm
−2
.
Aggregated transfer factor (TF), the calculated value, was used as the parameter
of
238
U transfer to crops:
TF
The concentration of U in the air dry weight of plants Bq kg
=
−
238
1
,
S Soil contamination density of U kBqm
238
2
,
−
4.1 The Effect of Mineral Fertilisers on the Accumulation
of
238
U in the Barley Crop on the Main Types of Soils
of the Non-chernozem Zone
An experiment with spring barley to study the effect of mineral fertilisers on the
accumulation of
238
U in the crop was carried out in model-field conditions in plastic
boxes (50 × 50 × 50 cm) without a bottom on sod-podzolic soils of different textures
and varying degrees of cultivation (No. 1–5), grey forest soils (No. 6) and leached
chernozem (No. 7). Agrochemical characteristics of soils are presented in Table 7.
The soil for field experiments was selected from the arable layer (0–25 cm) in the
aligned areas, where cereal crops were cultivated with the application of mineral
Table 7 Agrochemical properties of soils
No. Soil
pH KCl
Humus,
%
P 2 O 5 K 2 O
Hydrolytic
acidity
Ca Mg
mg kg
−1 of
soil
mg-eq (100 g of soil)
−1
1 Sod-podzolic sandy loam
(Vladimir region)
5.6
1.0
97
83 1.2
3.2 0.3
2 Sod-podzolic sandy loam
(Moscow region)
4.3
1.1
77
37 4.8
2.5 0.2
3 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Moscow region)
4.5
1.2
101
88 4.4
7.6 0.8
4 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Kaluga region)
5.2
1.5
145
120 2.9
8.9 0.9
5 Sod-podzolic medium loamy
(Moscow region)
5.6
2.2
129
108 1.9
7.5 0.8
6 Grey forest medium loamy
(Kaluga region)
5.4
2.2
138
108 1.2
14.0 8.5
7 Leached medium loamy
chernozem (Tula region)
5.3
5.1
153
126 0.95
17.5 9.7
The Behaviour of Uranium in Soils and the Mechanisms of Its Accumulation…