Study of the transfer of radioactivity to fungi

In order to contribute to the knowledge of the transfer and temporal evolution of radioactive caesium and strontium contamination to the fruit bodies of fungi, and to avoid in so far as possible the variability found in field studies that have been carried out up to the present, we studied the cited transfer processes under controlled laboratory conditions. We cultivated saprophytic fungi, specifically Pleurotus eryngii, for this purpose, adding known amounts of ''134 Cs and ''85 Sr by different routes and at different times of incorporation. With the aim of extrapolating the results in the future to natural surroundings, we carried out in parallel a preliminary field study in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, to quantify the diversity and productivity of various species of fungi that are representative of the main nutritional types. (Author) 11 refs