Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 November 2013
Transfer factors of 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po from soilcontaminated with naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in oilfields to somegrazing plants were determined using pot experiments. Contaminated soil was collected froma dry surface evaporation pit from a Syrian oilfield in the Der Ezzor area. Five types ofplants (Atriplex halimus L., Atriplex canescens, Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss,Alfalfa and Bermuda grass) were grown and harvested three times over two years.The results show that the mean transfer factors of 226Ra from the contaminatedsoil to the studied plant species were 1.6 × 10-3 for Atriplexhalimus L., 2.1 × 10-3 for Atriplexcanescens, 2.5 × 10-3 for Atriplex LeucocladaBioss, 8.2 × 10-3 for Bermuda grass, and thehighest value was 1.7 × 10-2 for Alfalfa. Transferfactors of 210Pb and 210Po were higher than 226Ra TFs byone order of magnitude and reached 7 × 10-3, 1.1 × 10-2,1.2 × 10-2, 3.2 × 10-2 and 2.5 × 10-2for Atriplex halimus, Atriplex canescens, Atriplex Leucoclada Bioss, Bermuda grassand Alfalfa, respectively. The results can be considered as basevalues for transfer factors of 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po insemiarid regions.