About 10 to 15 years ago, the word “ecology” was hardly known to anyone. Now, it’s a term that appears in every newspaper article and is frequently mentioned by our numerous delegates at countless conferences. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a passing trend. The disruption of the natural balance that has existed for millennia among all living things on our planet is a stark reality, and there’s no turning back. Many regions of the world, including parts of our own country, have lost their natural state almost permanently. So, what now? It feels utterly hopeless! Merging modern civilization with the need to restore the natural environment to its original state seems nearly impossible. Therefore, we must seek alternative paths!
In most developed countries, efforts are underway not only to combat industrial pollution but also to limit the use of mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides. These are being replaced by what is known as natural farming, which aims to produce food that is as free as possible from any toxic substances. This system is undoubtedly less intensive and reduces productivity, so it’s still too early to implement it widely in our country. For now, we need to achieve sufficiently high yields with what is termed “normative” levels of harmful substances. But in our own garden plots, who is stopping us from adopting this system? After all, the main produce from our gardens is for our children, and we want them to grow up healthy and strong.
Let’s discuss ways to protect against radioactive elements. The Chernobyl disaster significantly heightened awareness of these elements, raising numerous questions about their “harmfulness” and the possibility of obtaining clean products.
Radioactive substances—those that emit radiation (from the Latin word “radius,” meaning ray)—have always been and will always be around us, in our food and within our bodies. First and foremost, these are the so-called natural radioactive elements. The primary ones formed during the creation of our planet as a celestial body, and many scientists believe their radiation was a crucial factor in the emergence and evolution of life.
The levels of these elements vary by region in our country, fluctuating by four to five times, and their radiation contributes to the natural background radiation, resulting in a certain dose of exposure for humans. However, since the detonation of the first atomic bomb, artificial radioactive substances have entered the environment, creating additional exposure for humans. This is the radiation we must learn to combat, reducing it to a minimum—essentially to a level that falls within the natural background radiation fluctuations.
Both natural and artificial radioactive substances are mineral elements found in all products and in the human body. Their entry into the human body occurs through what are known as food chains: soil → plant → animal → human. Thus, there are two barriers where we can block the entry of artificial radioactive substances into our bodies. The first is from soil to plant; the second is from plant to animal.
The primary method for combating the two most dangerous radioactive elements—strontium and cesium—is based on their behavior in the soil and their uptake by plants, which is similar to that of calcium and potassium.
When these nutrients are deficient in the soil, plants begin to absorb their “substitutes”—strontium and cesium—intensively. Additionally, a lack of calcium increases soil acidity, which ultimately enhances the transfer of radioactive substances from the solid phase of the soil into the soil solution, and then into the plant.
From this, two conclusions follow: first, it is essential to maintain a weakly acidic or neutral reaction in the soil of your plot; second, it is crucial to ensure optimal levels of calcium and potassium in the soil.
The degree of soil acidity and the need for its neutralization can be determined through laboratory analysis, simplified field tests using litmus paper, or even by observing the types of weeds present. An abundance of weeds such as sorrel, shepherd’s purse, creeping buttercup, and others definitely indicates increased soil acidity.
Soil acidity can be reduced by adding lime (lime flour or hydrated lime), dolomitic lime, and other substances. The liming process is detailed in many gardening guides. For liming the main soils of the non-chernozem zone (primarily podzolic, sandy loam, and light to medium clay soils), it is generally recommended to apply between 20 to 50 kg of lime per hectare. Liming not only reduces the mobility of radioactive substances in the soil but also introduces a primary “competitor” for strontium—calcium.
Increasing potassium levels in the soil can be achieved by applying potassium fertilizers. Light sandy and sandy loam soils, as well as peat and floodplain soils, have the greatest need for potassium fertilizers. Turf-podzolic clay and clay soils are richer in potassium, and the need for it usually arises when nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied simultaneously. Recommended doses for potassium fertilizers can be found in relevant guides or in the instructions accompanying the fertilizers sold. To enhance potassium’s protective effect against the uptake of radioactive cesium by plants, it is advisable to increase the recommended optimal doses for crop yield by 30-50%. Unfortunately, most potassium fertilizers produced in our country are in the form of chlorides, and excess chlorine is poorly tolerated by some crops, especially potatoes. Therefore, for this crop, it is preferable to use potassium fertilizers that do not contain chlorine—such as potassium sulfate and kalimagnesia. Ash is a good natural source of potassium, with the potassium content in the ash of various plants reaching up to 35%. A recently developed complex ameliorative fertilizer containing 16-19% potassium, 6% calcium, about 2.5% magnesium, and essential micronutrients (manganese, iron, molybdenum, zinc, and copper) is also very promising.
Liming and the application of potassium fertilizers can reduce the transfer of radioactive substances into plants by at least 2.5 to 3 times. Particularly good results are achieved in relatively low-organic turf-podzolic soils, which are primarily designated for gardeners. More fertile chernozems and black soils practically do not require fertilizers for this purpose. The transfer of radioactive substances into plants in these soils is minimal.
It is also important to note the impact of mineral nitrogen fertilizers on the amount of radioactive substances that enter plants. Studies have shown that increased doses of these fertilizers raise the accumulation of radioactive substances in the economically valuable parts of the harvest. Therefore, it is not advisable to overuse mineral nitrogen fertilizers, even though they do increase yields. Remember that excess nitrogen in the soil also means excess nitrates in plants. Organic fertilizers—manure, poultry droppings, peat-manure or peat-plant composts—can help solve this problem.
In addition to the aforementioned methods of protecting food crops from radioactive substances during their transition from soil to harvest, certain processing techniques for vegetables and potatoes during preparation are also significant.
For instance, potatoes should be thoroughly washed to remove soil particles before peeling, and after peeling, they should be soaked in cold water for an hour to an hour and a half. For carrots, beets, turnips, and other root vegetables, it is recommended to cut off the top part—about 1 to 1.5 cm. This part of the vegetable contains up to 80% of all radioactive and other toxic (lead, cadmium, mercury, etc.) substances that contaminate the soils of our gardens, especially around large industrial cities. For cabbage, it is advisable to remove at least the top layer of leaves and not to consume the core. Interestingly, when boiling cabbage, up to 40% of all toxic substances can leach into the water, so it is recommended to first bring it to a boil in clean water, drain it, and then add fresh water to cook it thoroughly.
Among industrially processed products, the least amount of radioactive substances, or even their complete absence, is noted in high-grade flour, starch, sugar, and refined vegetable oil.
It should be emphasized that, except for certain areas in the Chernobyl disaster zone and the Chelyabinsk region, the recommended practices do not need to be strictly followed. The levels of artificial radioactive substances in food do not exceed established, scientifically justified norms. However, employing these measures significantly reduces the content of radioactive substances in the plant products you grow and provides assurance that you have done everything possible to protect your health and the health of your children.
Protective measures during the transition of radioactive substances from plants to animal bodies, and consequently into livestock products, also significantly reduce their content.
It is important to note that animals, without our assistance, generally protect us from harmful substances, including radioactive ones. This is a powerful biological barrier created by nature itself.
For example, only one percent of radioactive cesium transfers into milk from the total amount ingested by a cow in a day. In one liter of milk, radioactive strontium accounts for about 0.1% of what was consumed.
Beef contains 4% of the daily intake of cesium, while pork contains up to 15% (with lard being less than 1%). The transfer of strontium into meat is even lower. In beef, it is about 0.1%, and in pork, it is 0.3%. Practically all strontium that enters the body is retained in the bones and is fixed there so firmly that even after boiling bones for four hours, no more than 1-2% leaches into the broth.
When feeding chickens the same feed as pigs, their meat will contain about half the amount of radioactive substances, and in their eggs, it will be 6 to 8 times less.
To obtain livestock products with minimal radioactive substance content, it is essential to reduce their levels in the feed.
When harvesting, for example, hay, it is important to note that the highest concentrations of radioactive substances are found in grass along roadsides, at forest edges, in lowlands, and swamps. If possible, when harvesting, store hay separately from high, dry meadows and from the aforementioned locations. The relatively more contaminated hay can be fed during the animal’s lactation period. This will not harm the offspring, while cleaner hay can be reserved for producing milk with minimal radioactive content.
When feeding potatoes and root vegetables, they must be thoroughly washed in running or changing water. It is very beneficial to soak root vegetables in clean water for 1.5 to 2 hours before cooking or feeding them fresh.
Additionally, the content of radioactive substances in the final food product can be further reduced through processing or cooking. For instance, during milk processing, 8-15% of strontium and cesium transfer into cream, 1.5-2.5% into butter, while clarified butter contains none. To reduce the content of radioactive substances in meat, it is sometimes recommended to soak it for several hours in water after chopping. This is likely an unwise recommendation, as such soaking can result in a loss of up to 30% of the meat’s nutritional value. Therefore, this advice should only be taken seriously if the meat contains excessive amounts of radioactive substances. A more sensible approach is to drain the first broth after boiling the meat and continue cooking it in fresh water. This method ensures at least a twofold reduction in radioactive substances.
That’s about all the recommendations for ensuring maximum radiation safety in your diet. I want to emphasize once again that all the suggested measures are not mandatory across the entire country. They should only be applied if there are reports of elevated levels of radioactive substances in the soil of your area where your garden or homestead is located, or if you have your own concerns about this issue. At the same time, as the saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves,” and since all the proposed methods will only bring benefits, it ultimately depends on your willingness and capabilities.