Can barium and strontium be used as tracers for radium in soil-plant transfer studies?

The relationship between soil characteristics and transfer factors was investigated. Cation exchange capacity, exchangeable Ca + Mg content and soil pH did not seem to influence Ra, Ba or Sr uptake in any clear way. A significant relation (negative power function) was found between the bivalent (Ca + Mg) concentration in the soil solution and the Ra-TF. A similar dependency was found for the Sr and Ba-TF, although less significant.