The Interception and Retention of 238Pu Deposition by Orange Trees
| Autor: | J.E. Pinder, D.C. Adriano, T. G. Ciravolo, A C. Doswell, D.M. Yehling |
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| Rok vydání: | 1987 |
| Předmět: |
Human food
Epidemiology Chemistry Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Radiochemistry Orange (colour) Contamination Plutonium isotopes Plutonium Trees Fruit Environmental chemistry Aerospace Medicine Soil Pollutants Radioactive Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging Radioisotope thermoelectric generator Alpha decay Interception Radioactive Pollutants Plutonium-238 |
| Zdroj: | Health Physics. 52:707-715 |
| ISSN: | 0017-9078 |
| DOI: | 10.1097/00004032-198706000-00002 |
| Popis: | Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) transform the heat produced during the alpha decay of /sup 238/Pu into electrical energy for use by deep-space probes, such as the Voyager spacecraft, which have returned images and other data from Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Future missions involving RTGs may be launched aboard the space shuttle, and there is a remote possibility that an explosion of liquid-hydrogen and liquid-oxygen fuel could rupture the RTGs and disperse /sup 238/Pu into the atmosphere over central Florida. Research was performed to determine the potential transport to man of atmospherically dispersed Pu via contaminated orange fruits. The results indicate that the major contamination of oranges would result from the interception and retention of /sup 238/Pu deposition by fruits. The resulting surface contamination could enter human food chains through transfer to internal tissues during peeling or in the reconstituted juices and flavorings made from orange skins. The interception of /sup 238/Pu deposition by fruits is especially important because the results indicate no measurable loss of Pu from fruit surfaces through time or with washing. Approximately 1% of the /sup 238/Pu deposited onto an orange grove would be harvested in the year following deposition. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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