137Cs is one of a few
radio contaminants. It stems from the radiation leakage that is left in measurable
quantities in Palestine. The transfer factor (TF) from soil to plant, and the
distribution coefficient (Kd) of fallout radionuclides 137Cs
in soil samples collected from agricultural areas in the southern part of the
West Bank in Palestine are measured in this study. The TF of 137Cs
ranged from 0.02 to 0.46 with a total average value of 0.18. In the current
study, the average values of TF of 137Cs in plant parts were found
to be closed to the IAEA range value of plants, which was ranged from 0.02 to
3.2. The Kd ranged
from 138 to 143 ml·g﹣1 within a total average value of 140 ml·g﹣1.
The average Kdvalue for 137Cs in Hebron region is
lower than the recommended level of 500 ml·g﹣1, which is assumed to
be about 1/4th of the Kd recommended values. The methodology
is applied to the other elements while physico-chemical forms of natural and
non-natural isotopes should be also clarified. The obtained findings alongside
some previous studies are discussed in this paper so as to evaluate the risk of
the radio cesium endangerment.
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