Determination of Soil-to-Plant and Plant-to-Cow^s Milk Transfer Factor for Natural Radionuclides and Radiocesium on Cattle Farm in Lembang Imam Ghazali Yasmint1, Abdul Waris1,2, Sidik Permana1,2, Eko Pudjadi3 & Ismail Humolungo2
1Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia, 40132
2Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia, 40132
3Environmental Laboratory, Subs-section of Environmental Safety, Radioecology Section, Center for Technology of Safety and Radiation Metrology, National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia, Lebak Bulus Raya No.49 Jakarta, Indonesia, 12440
Abstract
Apart from nuclear reactors, natural radiation sources contribute to the radiation received by humans. Natural sources that produce natural radioactivity in the environment come from primordial radionuclides (U and Th series) exposure, which usually found in the soil. The presence of radiocesium in the ground indicates the presence of waste products from nuclear reactor accidents and nuclear weapons tests. Radionuclides in the soil will be transferred to plants (grass, vegetables and etc.) that we know as soil-to-plant transfer. Regularly, cow and other animals eat grass as their main source of food and the presence of radionuclides in the grass implicitly affects human health by consuming meat and milk (plant-to-cow^s milk transfer). Therefore, testing of soil, grass and cow^s milk is needed so that it can be predicted how much natural radiation enters the human body and the behavior of radionuclides transfer. Lembang, a sub-district in West Java Province, Indonesia has become the center of education and research for agriculture and animal husbandry in West Java. In this study, several soil, grass and cow^s milk samples were taken from the cattle farm in Lembang. Then, the nuclear radiation was measured using an ORTEC gamma spectrometer with HPGe detector. Radionuclides observed in this study were 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs. Average activity concentration in soil is below the world^s average. Soil-to-plant and plant-to-cow^s milk transfer factor obtained are in line with the results from other studies, which shown that 40K has the highest transfer factor compared to other radionuclides. 137Cs was not found in milk samples so that only its transfer behavior was known from soil to plant.
