Accumulation of 210Po in Medicinal Plants in the Environment of Mangalore, Southwest Coast of India

Abstract

Systematic studies on the accumulation of210Po in 12 medicinal plants and activity concentration in associated soils have been carried out. The activity of210Po was measured using a ZnS (Ag) alpha counting system. The mean210Po activity concentration was found to be 27.8 and 8.3 Bq/kg for plant and soil, respectively. The plant-to-soil mean activity ratio of210Po was found to be 3.8. A good correlation was observed between the activity concentration of210Po in plant and soil. The absorbed gamma dose rates in the study area were also measured using a portable scintillometer and found to vary in the range of 34.8–52.2 nGy/h, with a mean value of 43.5 nGy/h. The results of these systematic investigations are presented and discussed in detail.

Keywords

• 210po activity
• alpha counting system
• dose rate
• medicinal plants
• soil