Department of Radioecological and Biodosimetric Research, Brunch "Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology" of National Nuclear Center of Republic of Kazakhstan, Kurchatov, Abay region, Kazakhstan.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 10;19(10):e0308959. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308959. eCollection 2024.
During the period from 2019 to 2021, a series of experiments were carried out to study the uptake of tritium by crops in an area heavily contaminated with atmospheric tritium oxide (HTO), at the former Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan. A quantitative assessment is given of the tritium uptake by typical crops (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and beans) cultivated all over Kazakhstan in the case of a short-term tritium oxide vapor exposure. The plant samples were collected during and after exposure and analyzed for the tritium concentration in two chemical forms: tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) and organically bound tritium (OBT). During the entire series of experiments, the tritium concentration in free water from leaves and ambient air was of the same order of magnitude. The tissue water tritium concentrations of stems and edible parts was 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than in the surrounding air. The average value of the TFWT/HTOatm ratio in the leaves and the edible part was (0.73±0.2) and (0.04±0.002), respectively. The organically-bound tritium concentration is 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the tissue water tritium and ambient air concentrations. Under aerial tritium oxide uptake, the distribution of tritium in non-leafy crops was as follows: leaf-stem-fruit (in decreasing order). After exposure, a non-significant amount of tritium is firmly retained in plants for a long time. The tissue water tritium concentrations correlate closely with atmospheric tritium oxid (r = 0.76), correlate weakly with temperature (r = 0.43) and relative humidity (r = -0.43), and correlate moderately with solar radiation intensity (r = 0.56). There was no reliable correlation between the concentration of tritium in organic matter and in ambient air. The concentration of tritium in the free water of leaves is closely correlated with the concentration in the free water of the stems (r = 0.95) and fruits (r = 0.78). The organically-bound tritium concentration in leaves is closely correlated with the organically-bound tritium concentration in stems (r = 0.99) and fruits (r = 98). The results of the study should be considered when evaluating the impact of tritium oxide emissions on the population living near nuclear power.
在 2019 年至 2021 年期间，在哈萨克斯坦前塞米巴拉金斯克试验场的一个大气氚氧化物（HTO）严重污染地区，进行了一系列实验，以研究农作物对氚的吸收。本文对哈萨克斯坦各地种植的典型作物（生菜、西红柿、辣椒和豆类）在短期氚氧化物蒸气暴露情况下对氚的吸收进行了定量评估。在暴露期间和之后采集了植物样本，并分析了两种化学形式的氚浓度：无组织水氚（TFWT）和有机结合氚（OBT）。在整个实验系列中，叶片和环境空气中的游离水氚浓度处于同一数量级。茎和可食用部分的组织水氚浓度比周围空气低 1 到 2 个数量级。叶片和可食用部分的 TFWT/HTOatm 比值的平均值分别为（0.73±0.2）和（0.04±0.002）。有机结合氚的浓度比组织水氚和环境空气浓度低 1-2 个数量级。在大气氚氧化物吸收的情况下，非叶类作物中氚的分布如下：叶-茎-果实（依次递减）。暴露后，很长一段时间内，植物中仍有少量的氚被牢固地保留。组织水氚浓度与大气氚氧化（r = 0.76）密切相关，与温度（r = 0.43）和相对湿度（r = -0.43）弱相关，与太阳辐射强度（r = 0.56）中度相关。有机物质中氚的浓度与环境空气中的氚浓度之间没有可靠的相关性。叶片游离水中氚的浓度与茎游离水（r = 0.95）和果实游离水（r = 0.78）中的浓度密切相关。叶片中的有机结合氚浓度与茎（r = 0.99）和果实（r = 98）中的有机结合氚浓度密切相关。在评估氚氧化物排放对居住在核电站附近的人口的影响时，应考虑到这些研究结果。
