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© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
D. K. Gupta, C. Walther (eds.), Uranium in Plants and the Environment,
Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14961-1_6
Factors Influencing the Soil to Plant
Transfer of Uranium
Javier Guillén and F. M. Gómez-Polo
Abstract Uranium is a radioactive and toxic element present in the environment,
but its concentration can be enhanced locally by human activities. An accurate
knowledge of uranium transfer from soil to plants is essential to assure an adequate
radiological protection, especially for crops consumed as foodstuff for men or cattle. Worldwide variation of transfer parameters is high, about 5–6 orders of magnitude, but usually lower than for anthropogenic radionuclides, such as Cs or Sr. There
are some variables, reviewed in this chapter, that can influence this variation, as type
of crop, part of plant considered, degree of association to soil particles, organic matter, and occurrence of chemicals, among others.
Keywords Uranium · Transfer · Speciation · Organic matter · Plant
1 Introduction
Uranium is a naturally occurring radionuclide that it is present in the environment.
Uranium average concentration in soil ranges from 0.3 to 11.7 mg kg
−1
(UNSCEAR
1993), equivalent to a range of 3–117 Bq kg
−1
when considering
238
U, the most
abundant isotope. However, there are areas with higher uranium accumulation,
which are usually mined for fuel in nuclear power plants. Other mining activities
and industries also involve the occurrence of uranium in ores, by-products, or processed materials at higher concentrations. These activities are usually referred as
NORM (natural occurring radioactive material) industries. Fertilizer production,
coal-fired power plants, metallic mining, and gas and oil extractions are some of
these NORM activities. Table 1 shows the range of uranium concentrations for various raw materials, by-products, and wastes from NORM industries, along with
J. Guillén (*) · F. M. Gómez-Polo
LARUEX, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain
e-mail: fguillen@unex.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
D. K. Gupta, C. Walther (eds.), Uranium in Plants and the Environment,
Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14961-1_6
Factors Influencing the Soil to Plant
Transfer of Uranium
Javier Guillén and F. M. Gómez-Polo
Abstract Uranium is a radioactive and toxic element present in the environment,
but its concentration can be enhanced locally by human activities. An accurate
knowledge of uranium transfer from soil to plants is essential to assure an adequate
radiological protection, especially for crops consumed as foodstuff for men or cattle. Worldwide variation of transfer parameters is high, about 5–6 orders of magnitude, but usually lower than for anthropogenic radionuclides, such as Cs or Sr. There
are some variables, reviewed in this chapter, that can influence this variation, as type
of crop, part of plant considered, degree of association to soil particles, organic matter, and occurrence of chemicals, among others.
Keywords Uranium · Transfer · Speciation · Organic matter · Plant
1 Introduction
Uranium is a naturally occurring radionuclide that it is present in the environment.
Uranium average concentration in soil ranges from 0.3 to 11.7 mg kg
−1
(UNSCEAR
1993), equivalent to a range of 3–117 Bq kg
−1
when considering
238
U, the most
abundant isotope. However, there are areas with higher uranium accumulation,
which are usually mined for fuel in nuclear power plants. Other mining activities
and industries also involve the occurrence of uranium in ores, by-products, or processed materials at higher concentrations. These activities are usually referred as
NORM (natural occurring radioactive material) industries. Fertilizer production,
coal-fired power plants, metallic mining, and gas and oil extractions are some of
these NORM activities. Table 1 shows the range of uranium concentrations for various raw materials, by-products, and wastes from NORM industries, along with
J. Guillén (*) · F. M. Gómez-Polo
LARUEX, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain
e-mail: fguillen@unex.es