Mushrooms - biological indicator of contamination of the environment

After the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, relatively high radioactive nuclides were detected in various mushrooms produced in European countries. Mushrooms have a high transfer factor shoving high uptake of radionuclides from soils and woods from which they are grooving. In this work, radionuclides of plutonium and americium were detected in the dried mushrooms collected in West Slovakia. The mushrooms species: Xerocomus, Lecccinum, Boletus and Armillariella were collected. The mushrooms were dried and the separation of radionuclides was performed with Aliquat-336 and tri-n-octylphosphine oxide. The samples were measured by alpha - spectrometry. A sequential leaching method was used for investigation of chemical forms of plutonium and americium. The specific activity of plutonium fractions was: 1. water soluble (2.03 ± 0.64) - (5.3 ± 3.46) Bq/kg; 2. exchangeable (20.74 ± 0.55) - (73.4 ± 19.2) Bq/kg; 3. carbonates minerals (1.2 ± 0.44) - ( 7.84 ± 2.36 ) Bq/kg; 4. reducible oxides of Fe/Mn (0.38 ± 0.28) - (27.6 ± 7.1) Bq/kg; 5. organic matter (19.42 ± 1.56) - (130.1 ± 54.5) Bq/kg; 6. residue (2.53 ± 0.74 ) - (116.8 ± 57.1) Bq/kg. The specific activity of americium fractions was: 1. water soluble (4.78 ± 2.5 ) - ( 29.5 ± 5.6) Bq/kg; 2. Exchangeable (23.65 ± 17.52) - (133.7 ± 39.5) Bq/kg; 3. carbonates minerals (3.41± 3.85) - (694.1 ± 180.2) Bq.kg; 4. reducible oxides of Fe/Mn (4.52 ± 2.01) - (84.5 ± 25.6) Bq/kg; 5. organic matter (17.1 ± 4.5 ) - (202.7 ± 35.1) Bq/kg; 6. residue (2.37 ± 1.76) - (9.83 ± 5.81) Bq/kg. The organic matter and residue fractions were found as the most common chemical forms of plutonium. The organic matter and carbonates mineral fractions were found as the most common chemical forms of americium. (author)