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. 2022 May 9;12(1):7528.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11388-1.

Environmental transfer parameters of strontium for soil to cow milk pathway for tropical monsoonal climatic region of the Indian subcontinent

P Ujwal  1   2 , I Yashodhara  1 , K Sudeep Kumara  1 , P M Ravi  1 , N Karunakara  3
Affiliations

Environmental transfer parameters of strontium for soil to cow milk pathway for tropical monsoonal climatic region of the Indian subcontinent

P Ujwal et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The radionuclide transfer between compartments is commonly described by transfer parameters representing the ratio of concentrations of an element in two compartments for equilibrium conditions. This is a comprehensive study on the soil-to-grass transfer factor (Fv) and grass-to-cow milk transfer coefficient (Fm) for stable strontium (Sr) for soil-grass (pasture)-cow (Bos taurus) milk environmental pathway under field conditions for a high rainfall tropical monsoonal climatic region of the Indian subcontinent. The study was conducted in the vicinity of the Kaiga nuclear power plant (NPP), situated ~ 58 km inland of the West Coast of the Indian subcontinent. A grass field was developed exclusively for this study, and two cows of the native breed were raised to graze on it. The soil, grass, and milk were analyzed to evaluate the Fv and the Fm values for the stable Sr. For comparison, several pasture lands and the cows raised by the villagers and a dairy farm were also studied. The Fv values were in the range 0.18-8.6, the geometric mean (GM) being 1.8. The correlations of Fv values with a range of physicochemical parameters are presented. The GM values for Fm were 2.2 × 10-3 d L-1 and 7.2 × 10-3 d L-1 for the two cows raised for this study, 2.6 × 10-3 d L-1 for those raised by the villagers, and 4.2 × 10-3 d L-1 for the dairy farm. The site-specific Fm value for the region was determined as 3.2 × 10-3 d L-1. The concentration ratio (CR), defined as the ratio of Sr concentration in milk to that in feed under equilibrium conditions, exhibited less variability (1.8 × 10-2-5.4 × 10-2) among the three categories of cows.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Map of the West Coast region of India, (b) Kaiga region and the sampling stations, and (c) the wind rose for the Kaiga region. The map was drawn using QGIS software (version QGIS-OSGeo4W-1.5.0–13,926, link: QGIS-OSGeo4W-1.5.0–13,926-Setup.exe).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly variation of stable Sr concentration in the grass (experimental field). The number of samples analyzed for each month is given in the parenthesis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly variation of stable Sr concentration in milk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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