¹³⁷Cs, trace and toxic elements distribution in Austrian mushrooms

Abstract

Various mushroom species have been analyzed for their elemental composition (i.e., Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Sr and Zn) by means of ICP-AES. The accuracy of the measurements was confirmed by analyzing a series of the same samples by short time activation analysis. The data were evaluated statistically including the values of¹³⁷Cs. The results denote that the distribution of these elements and their correlation of these elements and their correlation coefficients are highly distinctive for each mushroom species. K, Na and P were found to correlate negatively with¹³⁷Cs in most species. Suillus grevillei and Cantharellus cibarius show high Be values (0.27 and 0.30 μg g⁻¹, respectively), while Pb was high in Suillus grevillei (16.3 μg g⁻¹) and Amanita rubescens (9.3 μg g⁻¹). Higher levels of Cd were found in Rozites caperata and Russula vesca with a mean of 9.2 and 16.1 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Cluster analysis was applied to classify these samples according to their botanical species using their elemental composition. The concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Na and¹³⁷Cs have no influence on the classification of these samples.