Distribution and migration of 95Zr in a tea plant/soil system

95Zr is a primary radionuclide in the radioactive liquid efflux from a pressurized water reactor and one of the main radionuclides released after nuclear accidents. The fission yield of 95Zr is as high as 6.2%, however, its environmental behavior has not been well documented. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the accumulation and distribution of 95Zr in a tea plant/soil system. 95Zr was accumulated primarily in the trunk of tea plants after being taken up from the soil. The radioactivity concentration of 95Zr in the trunk increased slowly with time, then it reached a dynamic equilibrium 14 days after application. The radioactivity concentration of 95Zr in the other parts of the tea plant was very low; only slighter greater than the detection limit. The results indicated that 95Zr was not readily translocated in the tea plant. About 98.9% of applied 95Zr was found to concentrate in the upper 5 cm layer after being sprayed onto the soil surface. The results indicated that 95Zr could not readily move downwards with percolating water due to strong adsorption to surface soil.