Long-term reduction in (137)Cs concentration in food crops on coral atolls resulting from potassium treatment

Bikini Island was contaminated on March 1, 1954 by the Bravo detonation (U.S. nuclear test series, Castle) at Bikini Atoll. About 90% of the estimated dose from nuclear fallout to potential island residents is from cesium-137 ((137)Cs) transferred from soil to plants that are consumed by residents. Thus, radioecology research efforts have been focused on removing (137)Cs from soil and/or reducing its uptake into vegetation. Most effective was addition of potassium (K) to soil that reduces (137)Cs concentration in fruits to 3-5% of pretreatment concentrations. Initial observations indicated this low concentration continued for some time after K was last applied. Long-term studies were designed to evaluate this persistence in more detail because it is very important to provide assurance to returning populations that (137)Cs concentrations in food (and, therefore, radiation dose) will remain low for extended periods, even if K is not applied annually or biennially. Potassium applied at 300, 660, 1260, and 2070 kg ha(-1) lead to a (137)Cs concentration in drinking-coconut meat that is 34, 22, 10, and about 4% of original concentration, respectively. Concentration of (137)Cs remains low 8-10 y after K is last applied. An explanation for this unexpected result is discussed.     

The impact of atrazine on lake periphyton communities, including carbon uptake dynamics using track autoradiography

Chlorophyll a, freshweight biomass, ash-free dry weight, cell numbers, species richness, community carbon uptake and species-specific carbon uptake were used to monitor the impact of atrazine (2 chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine) on an in situ, enclosed periphyton community. Atrazine concentrations ranging from 0.08 to 1.56 mg litre(-1) were used during the 2 years of study. In both 1982 and 1983, there was a shift from a chlorophyte- to a diatom-dominated community. In 1982 the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermum stagnale and the chlorophyte Tetraspora cylindrica developed isolated colonies in the 1.56 mg litre(-1) treatment, indicating resistance to atrazine at this concentration. After atrazine exposure, community productivity was reduced by 21% to 82% in the low to high exposures, respectively. After day 21 productivity returned to control levels. It was shown, using track autoradiography, that the productivities of the larger algae Mougeotia sp., Oedogonium sp., Tolypothrix limbata and Epithemia turgida were the most affected, with reductions of 74.3% to 93.1% that of the controls. All the biotic measures indicated reduced growth after herbicide exposure.     

Photocatalytic degradation of imazethapyr herbicide at TiO2/H2O interface

The photocatalytic degradation of imazethapyr, a herbicide of the imidazolinone family, was investigated in an aqueous suspension of titanium dioxide used as a catalyst. A pseudo-first order kinetic model was employed to discuss the results. The effect of catalyst loading, initial concentration of imazethapyr, hydrogen peroxide, pH value, and temperature were investigated. Imazethapyr disappearance as a function of irradiation time was analyzed by HPLC. The ammonium ion formation was determined spectrophotometrically at 694 nm. The degradation was observed to proceed more favorably at natural pH (ca. 4.4) when the pH was varied in the range from 2 to 11. The addition of hydrogen peroxide to the TiO2 suspension enhanced the degradation rate constant up to 5.0x10(-3) mol l-1, but decreased it at higher concentrations. The degradation rate constants decreased by 19% with a temperature increase from 20 to 40 degrees C in the TiO2 suspension, whereas a 16% increase in imazethapyr direct photolysis was observed for the same temperature range. This behavior indicates the occurrence of physisorption between TiO2 and imazethapyr molecules.