The effect of chelating agents on the absorption of radium by plants

Abstract

The absorption of radium from solution, by plants, has been compared with that of calcium, active strontium being used as a label for the calcium. It was found that radium was preferentially retained by the roots and discriminated against in passage to the shoots. However, the uptake and distribution of radium was influenced by ethylenediaminetetra acetic acid (EDTA) and citrate at the concentrations employed in water culture media to keep iron in solution. There was little discrimination against radium after plants had grown for a week in active nutrient solution when EDTA was present, but in the presence of citrate radium moved less rapidly by a factor of about 0.3. In the early stages of treatment, less than a day, the results with citrate were comparable with those of EDTA, whence it is inferred that the decrease in transfer to the shoots is dependent upon the relative rates at which the two complexes decompose.