Transfer Rates of (238)U and (232)Th for E. globulus, A. mearnsii, H. filipendula and Hazardous Effects of the Usage of Medicinal Plants From Around Gold Mine Dump Environs

Medicinal plant consumption can be a source of human exposure to radioactive elements such as (238)U and (232)Th, which can lead to internal radiation doses. The uptake of (238)U and (232)Th from soils to the leaf samples of three different medicinal plant species (Eucalyptus globulus, Acacia mearnsii and Hyparrhenia filipendula) from the purlieu of the Princess gold mine dump, an abandoned contaminated tailings storage site (TSS), located at longitude 27°55′00″E and latitude 26°09′30″S in Davidsonville (Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, South Africa) was measured. This was done using ICP-MS spectrometry and substantial differences were observed in the soil-plant transfer factor (TF) values between these radionuclides. The plant species E. globulus exhibited the highest uptake of (238)U, with an average TF of 3.97, while that of H. filipendula was 0.01 and the lowest TF of 0.15 × 10(−2) was measured for A. mearnsii. However, in the case of (232)Th, the highest average TF was observed for A. mearnsii (0.29), followed by E. globulus (0.10) and lowest was measured for H. filipendula (0.27 × 10(−2)). The ratio of TF average value i.e., (238)U to (232)Th in the soil-plant leaves was 38.05 for E. globulus, 0.01 for A. mearnsii and 4.38 for H. filipendula.