J. Garnier-Laplace and S. Roussel-Debet prepared this fact sheet in 2001. It describes the behavior of the chemical element in the principal compartments of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems using the following assumptions mage in 2001. They indicated that "isotope discrimination is negligible, which is verified for most of the elements considered. When the element has stable isotopes, the behavioral analogy between the stable and radioactive isotopes is accepted implicitly, with the understanding that for naturally occurring elements, the chemical form and emission environment for anthropogenic discharge may involve pathways and transfer processes different from those identified
for the stable natural element.
The radioactive isotope designated in the title of the fact sheet has major radioecological importance with regard to quantity and persistence in the environment, with other isotopes, both radioactive and stable, being cited as well. The information, which has intentionally been simplified, is intended to reflect the state of knowledge on the topic at the time of publication and provide values for the principal radioecological parameters normally used to estimate transfer in the environment and in the food chain in particular.
[Note: A more recent article on the subject (here).]
Which indicates: "Conventional radiocarbon calculations correct for isotopic fractionation using an assumed value of 2.0 for the fractionation of 14C relative to 13C. In other words, isotopic discrimination in physical and chemical processes is assumed to cause relative shifts in 14C/12C ratios that are exactly double those of 13C/12C. This paper analyzes a 1984 experiment that produced a value for the fractionation ratio in photosynthesis of 2.3, which is used to this day by some researchers in the fields of hydrology and speleothem geochemistry. While the value of 2.3 is almost certainly incorrect, theoretical work suggests that the true value may indeed deviate from 2.0, which would have significant implications for 14C calculations.
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