On peculiarities of vertical distribution of 239,240Pu, 238Pu and 137Cs activity concentrations and their ratios in lake sediments and soils

Title: On peculiarities of vertical distribution of ^239,240Pu, ²³⁸Pu and ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations and their ratios in lake sediments and soils

Author:  B. Lukšienė, E. Maceika, N. Tarasiuk, E. Koviazina, V. Filistovič, Š. Buivydas, A. Puzas Reference: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry , February 2014

DOI: 10.1007/s10967-014-3026-0

Keywords: 238Pu, 239,240Pu, 137Cs, Origin, Lake sediments, Upland and flooded soils, Vertical profiles

Abstract: Distributions of ^239,240Pu, ²³⁸Pu and ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in the cores of sediments in the shallow lake, flooded and upland forest soils taken in the vicinity of Vilnius city were analyzed. The radiochemical, α-spectrometric and mass spectrometric methods were used for the plutonium evaluation and γ-spectrometry was used for the radiocesium evaluation. The only peak of enhanced radionuclide activity concentrations was determined for the lake bottom sediments, whereas vertical profiles of the radionuclide activity concentrations in flooded and upland forest soil cores were distinguished by two peaks. The obtained values of the activity concentration ratio ²³⁸Pu/^239,240Pu and the isotopic ratio ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu indicated that the global fallout was a source of plutonium in the investigated environment. Chernobyl-derived radiocesium was detected solely in the surface layers (2–11 cm) of the studied sample cores. The contribution of the Chernobyl deposits amounted to about 2.26, 6.11 and 20.9 % of the total radiocesium inventory in the bottom sediments, the upland soil and flooded soil, respectively.

ＵＲＬ：http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10967-014-3026-0

Association of radionuclides with the colloidal matter of underground waters taken from observation wells in the zone of impact of Lake Karachai (English available)

Author: Novikov, A. P.; Kalmykov, S. N.; Goryachenkova, T. A.; Kazinskaya, I. E.; Barsukova, K. V.; Lavrinovich, E. A.; Kuzovkina, E. V.; Myasoedov, B. F.

Reference: Gazette “Radiochemistry”, 2009

ISSN: 0033-8311

DOI:

Keywords: radioisotopes, lake, groundwater, radionuclide contamination 

Abstract: Associations of radionuclides with colloidal particles of various sizes, isolated from underground waters of the Lake Karachai contamination area, were studied. Analysis by photon correlation spectroscopy showed that the total content of colloidal matter in deeper horizons is higher by an order of magnitude than in near-surface horizons. The mean particle radius also increases with the depth. The major fraction of Pu, Am, and Cm is associated with colloids (40�90%). U and Np are associated with colloidal particles to a lesser extent (2�20%), which determines their higher migration mobility in underground waters. The amount of actinides associated with coarse colloidal particles of size from 450 to 200 nm is insignificant. A considerable fraction of actinides is in the deep-lying water (depth =40 m) is associated with colloidal particles of size from 200 to 50 nm. No more than 30% of Pu and Am in water of these horizons is associated with finer colloids (from 10 kDa to 50 nm). With approaching the surface, the amount of actinides in the fraction of nanometer-sized particles (50 nm-10 kDa) increases (to 50%).

URL: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/47128737/association-radionuclides-colloidal-matter-underground-waters-taken-from-observation-wells-zone-impact-lake-karachai

Radionuclides in ground waters from observation holes in the Shelter local area (probably English)

Author: Odintsov, A. A.; Khan, V. E.; Krasnov, V. A.; Pazukhin, E. M.

Reference: Gazette “Radiochemistry”, 2007

ISSN: 0033-8311

DOI: 621.039.542

Keywords: drinking water, contamination, water pollution, radioisotopes, ricer, lake

Abstract: The volume activity of 3H, 90Sr, 137Cs, 234U, 235U, 238U, 238Pu, 239+240Pu, and 241Am in ground waters from observation holes 1-G-6-G in the north section of the Shelter local area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) was measured. The distribution of radionuclides in the suspension fractions of the ground waters was evaluated. The main contribution to the pollution of ground waters with uranium is due to natural uranium isotopes: 234,235,238U. The activity ratios of 238Pu, 239+240Pu, and 241Am in ground waters are similar to those in the spent fuel of 4th CNPP block.

URL: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/27081216/radionuclides-ground-waters-from-observation-holes-shelter-local-area

Lake fish as the main contributor of internal dose to lakeshore residents in the Chernobyl contaminated area

Title: Lake fish as the main contributor of internal dose to lakeshore residents in the Chernobyl contaminated area

Author: I.G Travnikova, A.N Bazjukin, G.Ja Bruk, V.N Shutov, M.I Balonov, L Skuterud, H Mehli, P Strand

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 77, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 63-75

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2004.03.003

Keywords: Chernobyl; ¹³⁷Cs; Lake; Internal exposure

Abstract: Two field expeditions in 1996 studied ¹³⁷Cs intake patterns and its content in the bodies of adult residents from the village Kozhany in the Bryansk region, Russia, located on the shore of a drainless peat lake in an area subjected to significant radioactive contamination after the 1986 Chernobyl accident. The ¹³⁷Cs contents in lake water and fish were two orders of magnitude greater than in local rivers and flow-through lakes, 10 years after Chernobyl radioactive contamination, and remain stable. The ¹³⁷Cs content in lake fish and a mixture of forest mushrooms was between approximately 10–20 kBq/kg, which exceeded the temporary Russian permissible levels for these products by a factor of 20–40. Consumption of lake fish gave the main contribution to internal doses (40–50%) for Kozhany village inhabitants Simple countermeasures, such as Prussian blue doses for dairy cows and pre-boiling mushrooms and fish before cooking, halved the ¹³⁷Cs internal dose to inhabitants, even 10 years after the radioactive fallout.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X04000761

137Cs in deep-water lakes: Analysis of the peculiarities of water contamination and purification (English)

Author: Bakunov N.A., Bol’shiyanov D.Yu., Makarov A.S.

Reference: Gazette “ВОДНЫЕ РЕСУРСЫ“, St. Petersbourg, 2008

ISSN:  0097-8078

DOI: 10.1134/S0097807808060055

Keywords: 137cs, water bodies, deep lakes

Abstract: The assessment of 137Cs concentration in water based on the model of radionuclide absorption by the bottom sediment of a closed water body is applicable to deep-water lakes with slower water circulation (the time of water exchange exceeding 10 years). The low river runoff from such lakes does not determine their water purification from 137Cs because of the predominance of the process of 137Cs sorption by suspension and bottom sediment. The contamination of a deep-water arctic lake with global 137Cs is reconstructed.

URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1134%2FS0097807808060055#

Preventive gradation of lakes with respect to 90Sr accumulation by fish in northwestern Russia (English)

Author: Bakunov N.A., Savatyugin L.M., Bolshiyanov D.Yu.

Reference: Gazette “ЭКОЛОГИЯ“ (Ecology), 2007

ISSN: 0367-0597

DOI: 10.1134/S1067413607020142

Keywords: lake, 90sr, fish

Abstract:

URL: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=13563775

Pollution dynamics of 137CS in Kozhanovskoe Lake in post-Chernobyl period

Title: Pollution dynamics of 137CS in Kozhanovskoe Lake in post-Chernobyl period

Author: Vakulovsky S.M., Kolesnikova L.V., Tertyshnik E.G., Uvarov A.D.

Reference: Gazette “РАДИАЦИОННАЯ БИОЛОГИЯ. РАДИОЭКОЛОГИЯ “ (Radiation Biology, Radioecology), 2009

ISSN: 0869-8031

DOI: 10.1134/S0869803109020106

Keywords: lake, 137cs, contamination

Abstract: In the article dynamics of radio-contamination, after the Chernoby accident, of the low-flow Kozhanovkoe Lake, in Bryanskaya district, is obseved. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of 137Cs contamination Kozhanovskoe Lake in the post-Chernobyl period, the semi-empirical evaluation of the current contamination of the water body well coincides with the experimental ones. Obtains evaluation of integrated reserves of 137Cs in the main components of the lake: the water, sediment and aquatic vegetation in the period 2005-2007.

URL: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=11919683

Accumulation of Chernobyl-derived 137Cs in bottom sediments of some Finnish lakes

Title: Accumulation of Chernobyl-derived 137Cs in bottom sediments of some Finnish lakes

Author: Erkki Ilus, Ritva Saxén

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Volume 82, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 199-221

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2005.01.008

Keywords: Lake sediments; Chernobyl fallout; Caesium-137; Sedimentation rate

Abstract: The amount and vertical distribution of Chernobyl-derived ¹³⁷Cs in the bottom sediments of some Finnish lakes were studied. Sediment and surface water samples were taken in 2000 and 2003 from 12 stations in nine lakes and the results were compared with those obtained in corresponding surveys carried out in 1969, 1978, 1988 and 1990. Each of the five deposition categories of Chernobyl fallout in Finland were represented. The depth profiles of ¹³⁷Cs in the sediments showed considerable variety in the lakes studied. The peak values varied between 1.5 and 46 kBq kg⁻¹ dry wt. The size and shape of the peak did not always correlate with the amount of deposition in the area, but on the other hand, reflected differences in sedimentation processes in different lakes. In some of the lakes the peak still occurred in the uppermost (0–2 cm) sediment layer, but in an extreme case the peak occurred at a depth of 22–23 cm corresponding to a sedimentation rate of 16 mm year⁻¹ during the 14 years after the Chernobyl accident. The total amounts of ¹³⁷Cs in sediments varied from 15 to 170 kBq m⁻² at the sampling stations studied. Since 1990, the amounts have continued to increase slightly in two lakes, but started to decrease in the other lakes. In most of the lakes, the total amounts of ¹³⁷Cs in sediments were about 1.5–2 times higher than in local deposition. In two lakes, the ratio was below 1, but in one case 3.2. Compared with the total amounts of ¹³⁷Cs at the same stations in the late 1960s and 1970s, the values were now at their highest, at about 60-fold. The most important factors affecting ¹³⁷Cs values in sediments were the local amount of deposition and the type of the lake and the sediment, but in addition, there were a number of other factors to be considered.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X0500041X

Radiocaesium removal from European lakes and reservoirs: key processes determined from 16 Chernobyl-contaminated lakes

• Title: Radiocaesium removal from European lakes and reservoirs: key processes determined from 16 Chernobyl-contaminated lakes

Author: Smith, J.T. / Comans, R.N.J. / Elder, D.G.

Reference: Water Research, 33 (18), p.3762-3774, Dec 1999               

doi: 10.1016/S0043-1354(99)00087-1

Keywords: Chernobyl; radiocaesium; lake; distribution coefficient

Abstract: A study based on information from the scientific literature was carried out to identify the key processes which determine the initial radiocaesium activity concentration and its rate of removal in 16 different European lakes after the Chernobyl accident. Analysis and modelling of these data showed that a simple model, incorporating only dilution, lake flushing and settling of suspended particles, can explain 97% of the variation in initial activity concentrations in lakewater and 79% of the variation in ¹³⁷Cs removal rates.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135499000871

Abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in lakes exposed to Chernobyl-derived ionising radiation

• Title: Abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in lakes exposed to Chernobyl-derived ionising radiation

Author: Murphy, J.F. / Nagorskaya, L.L. / Smith, J.T

Reference: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 102 (7), p.688-694, Jul 2011

doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.04.007

Keywords: Chernobyl;Fukushima;Macroinvertebrate;Lake;Radiation effects;Biota

Abstract: ► We studied the effect of radiation on macroinvertebrates in Chernobyl affected lakes. ► Abundance, taxon richness, Berger-Parker dominance, Shannon–Wiener diversity evaluated. ► No relationship between community indices or abundance and radiation at up to 30 μGy h⁻¹. ► Taxon richness varied in range 22–42: typical for uncontaminated lakes in the region. ► Natural environmental factors principal drivers of biotic assemblage structure

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X11000798]]