Radioisotopes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radioisotopes, including details on radioimmunotherapy, radionuclides, procedures, hazards.

Radionuclides in fruit systems: model prediction-experimental data intercomparison study.

Ould-Dada Z, Carini F, Eged K, Kis Z, Linkov I, Mitchell NG, Mourlon C, Robles B, Sweeck L, Venter A

Food Standards Agency, Radiological Protection and Research Management Division, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, Room 715B, London WC2B 6NH, United Kingdom. Zitouni.ould-dada@defra.gsi.gov.uk

This paper presents results from an international exercise undertaken to test model predictions against an independent data set for the transfer of radioactivity to fruit. Six models with various structures and complexity participated in this exercise. Predictions from these models were compared against independent experimental measurements on the transfer of 134Cs and 85Sr via leaf-to-fruit and soil-to-fruit in strawberry plants after an acute release. Foliar contamination was carried out through wet deposition on the plant at two different growing stages, anthesis and ripening, while soil contamination was effected at anthesis only. In the case of foliar contamination, predicted values are within the same order of magnitude as the measured values for both radionuclides, while in the case of soil contamination models tend to under-predict by up to three orders of magnitude for 134Cs, while differences for 85Sr are lower. Performance of models against experimental data is discussed together with the lessons learned from this exercise.

Published 17 July 2006 in Sci Total Environ, 366(2): 514-24.
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