The uptake of plutonium-238, 239, 240, americium-241, strontium-90 and caesium-137 into potatoes

Transfer factors have been measured for ²³⁹Pu + ²⁴⁰Pu, ²⁴¹Am, ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs into potatoes grown in a blend of soil which included silt polluted with radioactive waste discharged into the Irish Sea. The experiment has been carried out over four seasons and attempts to assess the radiological consequences to the consumer which would arise if potatoes were to be grown in land heavily contaminated with the silt. During the course of the experiment plutonium and americium became less available for uptake, ⁹⁰Sr became slightly more available and ¹³⁷Cs remained nearly constant in its availability. The values of the transfer factors are among the lowest reported for these radionuclides into potatoes.