Observations and modelling of thoron and its progeny in the soil–atmosphere–plant system

Abstract

Samples of pasture vegetation, mainly Trifolium pratensis, were collected at the Botanic Garden of the University of Bologna during the period 1998–2000 and measured by gamma-spectrometry for determining thoron progeny. Concentrations of 212Pb were between 1.5 and 20 Bq m −2, with individual peaks up to 70 Bq m −2. Soil samples were collected at the same location and physically characterised. Their chemical composition (particularly Th and U) was determined by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Lead-212 on plants mainly originates from dry and wet deposition of this isotope generated in the lower atmosphere by the decay of its short-lived precursor 220Rn, which is produced in the upper soil layers as a member of the natural thorium decay chain and exhales into the atmosphere. Concentrations of 220Rn in the atmosphere depend on (1) the amount of Th present in soil, (2) the radon fraction which escapes from the soil minerals into the soil pore space, (3) its transport into the atmosphere, and (4) its redistribution within the atmosphere. The mobility of radon in soil pore space can vary by orders of magnitude depending on the soil water content, thus being the main factor for varying concentrations of 220Rn and 212Pb in the atmosphere. We present a simple model to predict concentrations of thoron in air and its progeny deposited from the atmosphere, which takes into account varying soil moisture contents calculated by the OPUS code. Results of this model show close agreement with our observations.