137Cs and relationships with major and trace elements in edible mushrooms from Mexico

Cs-137 and K-40 specific activity together with major and trace elements were determined in soil samples and in different edible wild mushroom species collected from a seminatural temperate forest ecosystem located in the central part of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. The activity measurements were made using a gamma-ray spectrometer system with a high purity germanium (HpGe) detector. The major and trace elements were determined using emission spectrography and mass spectrometry, respectively. The aggregated transfer factors for Cs-137 Were estimated in 30 local mushroom species collected from 1993 to 1999. Differences as large as three orders of magnitude were observed. The contribution of mushrooms for the total Cs-137 dietary intake by the local population was estimated to be 37%. Mushrooms also showed to be good accumulators for Rb, Cu, Cs and Se. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.