Americium released into the environment tends to remain in soil and water at relatively shallow depths and may be taken up by animals and plants during growth; shellfish such as shrimp take up americium-241 in their shells, and parts of grain plants can become contaminated by exposure. In a 2021 paper, J.D. Chaplin et al. reported advances in the diffusive gradients in thin films technique, which have provided a method to measure labile bioavailable americium in soils, as well as in freshwater and seawater.