Caesium Radionuclide Uptake from Wet Soil to Kangkung Plant (Ipomoea sp)

Caesium radionuclide transfer from soil to kangkung plant (Ipomoea sp) generally consumed by people had been examined to obtain transfer factor value for internal radiation dose assessment via soil-plant-human pathway. The kangkung plants were cultivated on watered soil medium containing 134Cs with concentration of about 80 Bq/g, and the 134Cs uptake by plants, i.e root, stem, and leaves, were measured using gamma spectrometer. The 134Cs plant uptake was expressed as transfer factor, i.e. ratio of plant 134Cs concentration to 134Cs concentration on soil medium. From this research it was obtained transfer factor value of 134C from soil to plant is 0.07, and the transfer factor for root, stem, and leaves are 0.34 ; 0.05 ; 0,03 respectively, after 45 days cultivation. The transfer factor values are less than one, indicate that kangkung plant do not accumulate Cs radionuclide from soil. (author)