Chinese Journal of Polar Research

ADVANCES IN POLAR SCIENCE ›› 2005, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (1-English): 51-54.

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Crustaceous lichens sensitive monitor of caesium-137 radiation level in terrestrial environment

Du Chunguang1, Zhao Ye1, Zhang Jing2 and Xu Cuihua2   

  1. 1 Department of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
    2 National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100088, China
  • Online:1955-03-30 Published:1955-03-30
  • Contact: Du Chunguang

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Abstract:

The activity of caesium-137 (Bq/kg) in the crustaceous lichens and other samples was determined to prove the feasibility that crustaceous lichens work as a sen- sitive biology monitor to record the caesium-137 (Bq/kg) radiation levels of terrestri- al environment. The measurements were performed with GEM series HPGe (high-pu- rity Germanium) coaxial detector system(ADCAM-100)made by EC & GORTEC Company in USA. It was found that the activity of caesium-137 (Bq/kg) in the cru- staceous lichens was one order of magnitude higher than that found in surface soil, and was over three orders of magnitude higher than those found in the familiar biologi- cal samples. These results proved that crustaceous lichens may be one of the most sensitive biolog-ical monitors about the remote transmission and environmental radia- tion levels of caesium-137.

Key words: Crustaceous Lichens, Sensitive Monitor, Activity of Caesium-137