Radiocesium accumulation in edible wild mushrooms from coniferous forests around the Nuclear Centre of Mexico

Sci Total Environ. 1998 Nov 10;223(2-3):119-29. doi: 10.1016/s0048-9697(98)00307-6.

Abstract

Cs-137 and K-40 have been determined in soil samples and in wild edible mushrooms from a forest ecosystem located at the Nuclear Centre of Mexico (NCM) and in several surrounding localities. The transfer factors for Cs-137 were studied in 21 mushroom species from 1993 to 1997. The Cs-137 and K-40 determinations were performed using a gamma spectrometer system of low level counting with a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The local mushroom species that were found to show higher Cs-137 transfer factors were Clavariadelphus truncatus, Cortinarius caerulescens, Gomphus floccosus and Lyophyllum decastes. The Cs-137 levels obtained at the NCM in some mushroom samples were slightly lower than those from surrounding localities indicating that the nuclear facility has not emitted Cs-137 to the atmosphere.

MeSH terms

  • Agaricales / chemistry*
  • Cesium Radioisotopes / analysis*
  • Forestry
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Mexico
  • Plants, Edible / chemistry
  • Potassium Radioisotopes / analysis
  • Power Plants
  • Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / analysis*
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Cesium Radioisotopes
  • Potassium Radioisotopes
  • Soil Pollutants, Radioactive