Long-term decline of 137 Cs concentration in honey in the second decade after the Chernobyl accident

Title: Long-term decline of 137 Cs concentration in honey in the second decade after the Chernobyl accident

Author: Panatto, Donatella / Gasparini, Roberto / Lai, Piero / Rovatti, Paola / Gallelli, Giovanni

Reference: Science of The Total Environment, 382 (1), p.147-152, Aug 2007

doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.03.040

Keywords: ¹³⁷Cs; Long-term decline; Honey

Abstract: In the years 2001–2004 the ¹³⁷Cs activity was investigated in a total of 336 samples of different varieties of honey harvested in the Liguria Region of Northern Italy. Our purpose was to define (a) residual radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl accident and ¹³⁷Cs long-term decline, (b) correlation between ¹³⁷Cs activity and different honey varieties, and (c) correlation between ¹³⁷Cs activity and the prevailing geomorphological configuration in the collection areas. The mean ¹³⁷Cs specific activity was 4.33 ± 5.04 S.D. Bq/kg. Chestnut honey showed higher levels of radioactive contamination, which were ascribed to the extensive, superficial and deep, root apparatus of the tree. Honey samples from acidic argillite soils, which withhold radionuclides after deposition and slowly release them to plants, also showed higher ¹³⁷Cs activity. Long-term decline was calculated at 456 days, a value lower than those published from different food sources in the years following the accident. The rate of long-term decline decreases with time.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969707004044

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