Migration of Plutonium and Trace Elements and Macroelements in the “Soil–Plant” System at Various Amounts of Soil Moisture

Plutonium and trace elements and macroelements migration in the “soil–agricultural plant” system depending on soil moisture in the range from 15 to 40% of absolute soil moisture is studied in this vegetation experiment. The content of plutonium was analyzed by α-spectrometry with preliminary radiochemical isolation. The elemental composition was analyzed by the ICP-MS and ICP-AES methods. Beans (Fabaceae) of the Amber variety were used as the test culture. The plutonium transfer factor obtained in the vegetation experiments is in the range of 5.3 × 10–4–1.5 × 10–2, with an average value of 5.4 × 10–3 for the aboveground part of the bean plants and a range of 4.5 × 10–2 to 2.7 × 10–1, with an average of 1.6 × 10–1 for bean roots. It was determined that the distribution of plutonium and trace elements and macroelements in the vegetative organs of plants is not equal and the transfer factor of plutonium for the aboveground part of plants is lower than for the root part. It was established that the accumulation of plutonium and trace elements and macroelements, depending on the soil moisture, is different for the organs of beans. The dependence of plutonium accumulation by plants on the soil moisture is significantly higher than for other elements considered. A decrease in the coefficient of accumulation of plutonium in the aerial part of the beans is recorded with an increase in soil moisture up to two orders of magnitude. There is a trend towards a slight decrease in the accumulation coefficients of Fe, Mg, Mn, Cr, Mo, Ni, Co, and Cu. For the root system of beans, a clear dependence of the accumulation of the considered elements on soil moisture is not observed.