Reduction of ¹³¹I Content in Leafy Vegetables and Seaweed by Cooking

Abstract

Decontamination ratios of ¹³¹I were obtained from leafy vegetables samples and an edible seaweed sample (Papenfussiella kuromo) after cooking. Samples obtained in Akita City were contaminated with fallout ¹³¹I from the Soviet Chernobyl reactor accident. The decontamination ratio of ¹³¹I content in washed spinach samples to that in raw materials was 0.83 &plumn; 0.21. The ratio of ¹³¹I content in leafy vegetables and edible wild grass samples boiled in water to that in washed samples was 0.51 &plumn; 0.19 on an average. The overall decontamination ratio for leafy vegetables was 0.42 &plumn; 0.19, while the decontamination ratio after cooking was 0.68 for the seaweed sample.