Distribution of pre- and post-Chernobyl radiocaesium with particle size fractions of soils

Title: Distribution of pre- and post-Chernobyl radiocaesium with particle size fractions of soils

Author: Pasquale Spezzano

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 83, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 117-127

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.02.002

Keywords: Chernobyl fallout; Weapons fallout; Soil; Radiocaesium; Particle size distribution

Abstract: The association of radiocaesium with particle size fractions separated by sieving and settling from soils sampled eight years after the Chernobyl accident has been determined. The three size fractions were: 63 μm. ¹³⁷Cs in the soil samples was associated essentially with the finer size fractions, which generally showed specific activities 3–5 times higher than the bulk samples.

Activity ratios of ¹³⁴Cs/¹³⁷Cs in the clay-sized fractions appear to be lower with respect to the corresponding values in bulk soil samples. This result indicates that some differences still exists in the particle size distribution between ¹³⁷Cs originating from nuclear weapons, which has been in the soil for decades after fallout, and ¹³⁷Cs coming from the Chernobyl accident, eight years after the deposition event. This behaviour could be related to “ageing” processes of radiocaesium in soils.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X05000548

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