Estimation of 137Cs uptake by forest mushrooms as a function of soil properties

The method for calculating the parameters of the 137Cs uptake by forest mushrooms relative to the soil properties is proposed. The calculation of the 137Cs coefficient values for the Xerocomus badius during the first 12 years after the ChNPP accident was accomplished in the average-contaminated area of the Bryansk region affected by the accident, as an example of evaluating the 137Cs accumulation coefficient and transfer coefficient (Tc). It is shown that the Tc value for the raw mushrooms is within the range from 0.06 up to 0.12 kg of raw mass/m2. The Tc average experimental value for the above mushroom in the 1987-1997 in the Bryansk region constitutes 0.07 ± 0.02 kg of raw mass. Good agreement of calculational and experimental values testifies to the fact that the method described may be a useful instrument in evaluating the 137Cs accumulation in the forest mushrooms