Radionuclide transfer to fruit in the IAEA TRS No. 472

¹ Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Via Emilia Parmense, 84 Piacenza, Italy
² Institute of Entomology and Vegetable Pathology Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Via Emilia Parmense, 84 Piacenza, Italy

^* E-mail: franca.carini@unicatt.it

Abstract

This paper describes the approach taken to present the information on fruits in the IAEA report TRS No. 472, supported by the IAEA-TECDOC-1616, which describes the key transfer processes, concepts and conceptual models regarded as important for dose assessment, as well as relevant parameters for modelling radionuclide transfer in fruits. Information relate to fruit plants grown in agricultural ecosystems of temperate regions. The relative significance of each pathway after release of radionuclides depends upon the radionuclide, the kind of crop, the stage of plant development and the season at time of deposition. Fruit intended as a component of the human diet is borne by plants that are heterogeneous in habits, and morphological and physiological traits. Information on radionuclides in fruit systems has therefore been rationalised by characterising plants in three groups: woody trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Parameter values have been collected from open literature, conference proceedings, institutional reports, books and international databases. Data on root uptake are reported as transfer factor values related to fresh weight, being consumption data for fruits usually given in fresh weight.