![]() ![]() There are about 14,000 species of mushrooms in the world, most of which fall into one of the following categories: gilled, non-gilled, and puffballs and their relatives. ![]() The amount of cesium in wild mushrooms varies significantly between mushroom species. ![]() Level of Nuclear Contamination Depends on Mushroom Type In addition to wild mushrooms, foods that have been significantly affected by the nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown in several European countries include bilberries (wild blueberries), raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, cloudberries, wild strawberries, wild game, deer meat, and carnivorous freshwater fish from lakes (e.g. The European Commission also states that in regions where foodstuffs may exceed the maximum level of radioactive cesium permitted, member states shall inform the population of the health risks involved. The becquerel was named after Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852-1908), a French physicist, who shared a Nobel Prize with Pierre and Marie Curie for their work in discovering radioactivity. Becquerel, Bq, is a unit of radioactivity, and one Bq unit is defined as the radioactivity in which one nucleus decays per second. In Japan, the maximum limit has been set to 300 becquerel per kilogram. The European Commission recommends that the UK, Ireland and other member countries of the European Union should not sell natural products that exceed the permitted maximum level of radioactive cesium-137 which the Commission has set to 600 becquerel per kilogram. Radiocesium can cause genetic mutations in humans and animals, and consequently, a high consumption of nutrition contaminated by cesium can lead to cancer or cause deformations to embryos and fetuses. Mushrooms are sensitive to nuclear contamination The Chernobyl power plant released significant amounts of radiocesium-137 into the environment, but also the nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s released some cesium. Cesium is one of the by-products of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing. As a result, they are prone to absorbing radioactive substances such as cesium-137 (also known as caesium-137, radiocaesium-137 and 137 Cs) and other radionuclides. Mushrooms' Affinity for Cesium-137 and Other Radionuclidesįungi, which lack stems and roots, use absorption to obtain nutrition from the atmosphere through their surface cells. With the recent developments at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan and the uncertainty of the consequences of the disaster, the topic of nuclear contamination of food has re-gained considerable public attention over the past weeks. An example of such effects is the radioactive contamination (cesium-137 contamination) of wild mushrooms in certain European countries. The lingering effects of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in 1986 in Ukraine continue to affect entire eco-systems in Europe. Mushrooms That Absorb Radioactive Cesium 137 and Other Radionuclides ![]()
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