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Uranium in Plants and the Environment pp 137–147Cite as

Factors Influencing the Soil to Plant Transfer of Uranium

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Part of the book series: Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment ((RHME))

Abstract

Uranium is a radioactive and toxic element present in the environment, but its concentration can be enhanced locally by human activities. An accurate knowledge of uranium transfer from soil to plants is essential to assure an adequate radiological protection, especially for crops consumed as foodstuff for men or cattle. Worldwide variation of transfer parameters is high, about 5–6 orders of magnitude, but usually lower than for anthropogenic radionuclides, such as Cs or Sr. There are some variables, reviewed in this chapter, that can influence this variation, as type of crop, part of plant considered, degree of association to soil particles, organic matter, and occurrence of chemicals, among others.

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Acknowledgement

This work was partially made possible by the financial support granted to the LARUEX research group (FQM001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LARUEX, Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain

    Javier Guillén & F. M. Gómez-Polo

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  1. Javier Guillén
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  2. F. M. Gómez-Polo
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Correspondence to Javier Guillén .

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  1. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Radioökologie und Strahlenschutz (IRS), Hannover, Germany

    Dharmendra K. Gupta

  2. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Radioökologie und Strahlenschutz (IRS), Hannover, Germany

    Clemens Walther

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Guillén, J., Gómez-Polo, F.M. (2020). Factors Influencing the Soil to Plant Transfer of Uranium. In: Gupta, D., Walther, C. (eds) Uranium in Plants and the Environment. Radionuclides and Heavy Metals in the Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14961-1_6

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