Research and analysis

Technetium transfer to terrestrial crops and animal products

This review (HPA-CRCE-025) describes technetium-99 in the environment from sources such as nuclear weapons testing and medical processes.

• From: Public Health England
• Published: 31 August 2011

Documents

HPA-CRCE-025: review of the transfer of technetium to terrestrial crops and animal products

Ref: ISBN 978-0-85951-703-4

PDF, 524 KB

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Details

This was a critical review of published data on the transfer of technetium into terrestrial crops and animal products, and to recommend transfer factor (TF) values for use in UK-based radiological assessments.

The review identified the chemical form of technetium in soil as the main factor determining how much is available for uptake to crops. TF values have been compiled for a range of crop types and for technetium in a chemically-reduced and non-reduced form, where data are available.

The compiled TF values have been compared with default parameters currently used in the FARMLAND model. Recommended values of TFs for specific applications of FARMLAND for radiological assessments in the UK are proposed.

Published 31 August 2011