Results of the study of radionuclides in citrus fruits common in the coastal subtropical zone of Adjara.

The growing chemicalization of agriculture leads to an increase in the use of fertilizers enriched with natural radionuclides, which is due to the fact that some types of mining raw materials used in the production of mineral fertilizers (primarily phosphate) are enriched in 238U, 232Th. and their decay products. Radionuclides entering the soil with fertilizers are first concentrated in the upper 0-20 cm soil layer and then begin to migrate. The movement of radionuclides in the soil leads to a proportional movement of radioactive substances in the root layer of plants. The accumulation and distribution of radionuclides in soil largely depends on the type of soil, its individual properties (moisture, chemical and mechanical composition) and the diversity of vegetation. The content of radionuclides in citrus fruits, common in the coastal subtropical zone of Adjara, was studied. In particular, the village of Khelvachauri municipality. Samples of citrus fruits (lemon, tangerine, orange) were taken from citrus plantations in Akhalsopeli, Gonio and Makhvilauri for analysis and determination of the content of Sr-90 and Cs-137 radionuclides in them. The strontium-90 radionuclide accumulates in plants from contaminated soil, then enters the human body and other vertebrates through the food chain, where it accumulates mainly in the bones. The radionuclide cesium-137 enters living organisms mainly through the respiratory and digestive organs. The determination of the content of radionuclides in citrus fruits was carried out by an instrumental method on a multichannel alpha- and gamma-spectrometric analyzer of the CANBERRA company. As a result of the research, it was found that the content of cesium 137 and strontium 90 radionuclides in citrus fruits (lemon, orange, tangerine) in the villages of the Khelvachauri municipality (Akhalsopeli, Makhvilauri, Gonio) does not exceed the permissible limit. Based on the results of the study of citrus radionuclides, we can say that in the villages of the Khelvachauri municipality studied by us (Akhalsopeli, Makhvilauri, Gonio), the content of cesium 137 and strontium 90 radionuclides in citrus fruits does not exceed the maximum allowable norm. Tab. 1, Ref. 9.