Calculations of the deposition of 137Cs from nuclear bomb tests and from the Chernobyl accident over the province of Skåne in the southern part of Sweden based on precipitation

Title: Calculations of the deposition of 137Cs from nuclear bomb tests and from the Chernobyl accident over the province of Skåne in the southern part of Sweden based on precipitation

Author: Mats Isaksson, Bengt Erlandsson, Maj-Lena Linderson

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 49, Issue 1, May 2000, Pages 97-112

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(99)00101-0

Keywords: Deposition; Precipitation; Radiocalsium; ; Global fallout; Chernobyl fallout

Abstract: The deposition of over the province of Skåne (an area of about 100×100 km²) in the southern part of Sweden has been investigated. The origin of the deposition of is, in about equal parts, from nuclear weapons tests and from the Chernobyl nuclear accident and amounts to about 1–3 kBq/m². The activity concentrations of and in soil samples from 16 sites distributed in a grid pattern over the investigated area have been measured and the depositions from the nuclear weapons tests and from the Chernobyl accident have been separated. These pre- and post-Chernobyl activities have been compared with depositions calculated from measurements of the activity concentrations of and in precipitation at two places and from measurements of the precipitation from a network of between 113 and 143 precipitation stations. Comparisons with in situ measurements and with aerial survey measurements have also been made. The agreement is good gain and it has been possible to gain a good and detailed knowledge in retrospect of the deposition from measurements of the deposition per mm of precipitation from just a few stations, and of the precipitation from a network of stations.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X99001010