Radionuclide concentration in sewage sludge at several location in Austria after the Chernobyl accident

The concentration of the radionuclides¹⁰³Ru,¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs in sewage sludge samples which were collected between July and September 1986, were measured by -ray spectrometry. High concentration of¹⁰³Ru,¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs were found in sewage sludge samples from Lower-Austria /Scheibbs, Zwettl/ and Styria /Eisenerz, Leoben/. the radioactivity concentration of¹³⁷Cs was two times higher than that of¹³⁴Cs. Following concentration values were found:¹⁰³Ru 0.1–63.0 nCi kg^–1,¹³⁴Cs 0.3–41.6 nCi kg^–1, and¹³⁷Cs 0.3–83.3 nCi kg^–1. The activity of these nuclides decreased from July 1986 to September 1986.     

Accumulation of103Ru,137Cs and134Cs in fruitbodies of various mushrooms from Austria after the Chernobyl incident

Various mushrooms from Austria were analyzed for¹⁰³Ru,¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs after the reactor accident at Chernobyl /19.6.–26.10. 1986/ by -spectroscopy. The following concentration (nCi/kg wet weight) values were found:¹⁰³Ru 0.1–4 nCi/kg,¹³⁷Cs 0.5–104 nCi/kg,¹³⁴Cs 0.3–42 nCi/kg. The concentration of cesium isotopes in Cantharellus cibarius /lower Austria/, Leccinum scabrum /lower Austria/ and Xevocomus badius /lower Austria/ was considerably higher than in other mushroom samples.     

Deposition of gamma-emitting nuclides in Japan after the reactor-IV accident at Chernobyl'

The wet and dry deposition of gamma-emitting nuclides are presented for Tsukuba and eleven stations in Japan following the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl'. In Japan fallout from the reactor at Chernobyl' was first detected on May 3, 1986, a week after the accident. Abruptly high radioactive deposition, which mainly consists of¹³¹I,¹³²I,¹⁰³Ru,¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs, was observed in early May. The cumulative amount of¹³¹I,¹⁰³Ru and¹³⁷Cs in May at Tsukuba were 5854±838 Bq·m^–2, 364±54 Bq·m^–2 and 130±26 Bq·m^–2 (decay was corrected to April 26), respectively. The monthly¹³⁷Cs deposition in May corresponds to 2.5% of the cumulative¹³⁷Cs deposition during the period from 1960 through 1982. Most of the Chernobyl' radioactivities, especially¹³¹I, are scavenged from the atmosphere by the wet removal process.     

Radiocesium tracer obtained from mushrooms

Some species of higher fungi growing at localities with increased contamnation by fission products from radioactive fallout /about 10–20 kBq¹³⁷Cs m^–2 and more/ contain up to 200 kBq of radiocesium-¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs, per kilogram d. m. Simple isolation of the rationcesium preparation of fruittbodies of suchn mushroom accumlators of radiocesium is described.     

Fallout from Chernobyl in Bologna and its environs: Radioactivity in airborne,rain water and soil

The Chernobyl fallout was estimated in Emilia-Romagna, a Northeastern region of Italy. Nuclide composition of airborne and the time evolution of the radioactivity were investigated. The comparison of the activity ratio of¹⁰³Ru to¹³⁷Cs allows to conclude that Italy was not influenced by the first release. The trend of the total activity and¹³⁷Cs percentage in rain water was very similar to those of air particulates. A calculation model to estimate¹³⁷Cs deposition onto the ground has been developed and validated by comparison of the calculated and experimental values for soil samples. The activity range was 2–40 kBq ·m^–2.     

Deposition of long-lived radionuclides after the chernobyl accident in the forestal massif of boreon

After the reactor accident at Chernobyl, samples of soil, moss, lichen and fern were collected in the forest around the Vesubie valley in the South East of France and analyzed by low energy photon and gamma spectrometry. Activity concentrations as high as 42.8, 9.4 and 3.8 kBq.m^–2 were measured for¹³⁷Cs,¹³⁴Cs and¹⁰⁶Ru, respectively, in soil, in October 1988.¹²⁵Sb and^110mAg were also detected. The contamination was found to be the most important between 1400 and 1700 m altitude.     

90Sr and137Cs in fallout from Chernobyl in the Bucharest-Măgurele area during 1986–1987

This work shows the variation of⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs in atmospheric fallout in the Bucharest-Mgurele area during 1986–1987. The amount of⁹⁰Sr in the fallout was estimated to be about 900 Bq.m^–2 in 1986 and about 9.2 Bq.m^–2 in 1987. The amount of¹³⁷Cs was estimated to be 13300 and 615 Bq.m^–2 in 1986 and 1987, respectively.     

Determination of137Cs and134Cs in air samples collected near Belgrade /Yugoslavia/ following the Chernobyl accident

This paper presents the results of measurements of¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs content in air sampled during May 1986. Maximum concentrations:¹³⁷Cs 2.94±0.01 Bq m^–3 and¹³⁴Cs 1.38±0.01 Bq m^–3 were registered on May 3. Several other long lived radionuclides having -energies in the region 33 keV to 1365 keV were registered in the same samples two years later. The results of measurements of the total -activity in air for the same period are also presented.     

Determination of131I,134Cs,137Cs in plants and cheese after Chernobyl accident in Roumania

Various samples from the south-east region of Roumania/greens, fodder, cheese/were analyzed for¹³¹I,¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs concentrations in May and July 1986 by -ray spectrometry. The concentrations are reported in nCi. kg^–1 wet weight. For greens, a considerable decrease was observed for¹³¹I/to 3.0–7.0 nCi. kg^–1/,¹³⁴Cs/to 0.5–2.0 nCi.kg^–1/ and¹³⁷Cs /to 1.0–4.0 nCi. kg^–1/ from the first half /5–15 May/ till the end of May 1986. For cheese, maximum values were measured between 5 and 15 May /sheep cottage cheese: 500–800 nCi.kg^–1 for¹³¹I, 25–50 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³⁴Cs, 40–80 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³⁷Cs/; at the beginning of July a considerable decrease /to 5–10 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³¹I, 1.2–2.0 nCi.kg^–1 for¹³⁴Cs, 2.2–3.0 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³⁷Cs/ was observed. In autumn 1986 a small increase up to 2.0–3.0 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³⁴Cs and 3.4–5.0 nCi. kg^–1 for¹³⁷Cs /in November/ was reported. The population's internal possible contamination was strongly limited by the authorities' severe control of the food-stuff.     

Determination of131I,134Cs,137Cs in grass and cheese after Chernobyl accident in Austria

Various samples from Styria /grass/ and Salzburg /cheese/ were analyzed for¹³¹I,¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs concentration during April–July 1986 by -ray spectrometry. The concentrations are reported in nCi kg^–1 wet weight. The concentration values found for¹³¹I 0.2–17.2 nCi kg^–1 /grass/, 0.1–0.5 nCi kg^–1 /cheese/, for¹³⁴Cs 1.1–6.2 nCi kg^–1 /grass/, 0.2–1.3 nCi kg^–1 /cheese/, for¹³⁷Cs 1.6–15.7 nCi kg^–1 /grass/, 0.3–2.2 nCi kg^–1 /cheese/. While radioactivity of¹³¹I,¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs in cheese samples increases from May to June, it decreases in grass samples from May to July 1986.     

A simple preparation of calibration curve standards of134Cs and137Cs by serial dilution of a standard reference material

Two sets of calibration standards for¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs were prepared by small serial dilution of a natural matrix standard reference material, IAEA-154 whey powder. The first set was intended to screen imported milk powders which were suspected to be contaminated with¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs. Therefore the concentration range of the calibration standards were about 40–400 Bq/kg. The precision of the preparation of the standard with about 7 Bq/kg of¹³⁴Cs and 39 Bq/kg of¹³⁷Cs at measurement time was 7.4% and 3.2%, respectively. The preparation of a similar standard by spiking the matrix with radioisotope solutions resulted in a poorer precision, about double that of the former technique. The other set of calibration standards was prepared to measure the environmental levels of¹³⁷Cs in commercial Venezuelan milk powders. Their concentration ranged from 3–10 Bq/kg of¹³⁷Cs. The accuracy of these calibration curves was checked by using IAEA-152 and A-14 milk powders. Their measured values were in good agreement with their certified values. Finally, it is shown that these preparation techniques by serial dilution of a standard reference material were simple, rapid, precise, accurate and cost-effective.This work was partly funded by a research contract PC-075 from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICIT).     

Determination of137Cs and134Cs radioisotopes in various mushrooms from Austria one year after the Chernobyl incident

Many mushrooms from Austria collected between May 25 and September 21, 1987 were analyzed for¹³⁷Cs and¹³⁴Cs by -spectroscopy one year after the reactor accident at Chernobyl. The following concentrations /nCi kg^–1 wet weight/ were found:¹³⁷Cs 0.4–43.2 nCi kg^–1,¹³⁴Cs 0.1–16.4 nCi kg^–1. The concentration of cesium isotopes in Cantharellus cibarius /Klagenfurt/ and Xerocomus badius /Upper-Austria, Mühlviertel/ were considerably higher than the tolerance level /5 nCi kg^–1/.     

Depth distribution of239,240Pu and137Cs in soils of South Korea

Depth distribution of^239,240Pu and¹³⁷Cs in the soils of South Korea have been studied. The average accumulated depositions were estimated roughly to be 54.8±32.1 Bq·m^–2 for^239,240Pu, 1.6±1.0 Bq· ·m^–2 for²³⁸Pu and 1982.8±929.1 Bq·m^–2 for¹³⁷Cs. The activity ratios of^239,240Pu/¹³⁷Cs in soils were found to be in the narrow range of 0.0153 to 0.0364 with a mean value of 0.0230±0.006. The concentrations of^239,240Pu and¹³⁷Cs in soils decrease exponentially with increasing the soil depth. A significant correlation was found between the concentration of^239,240Pu and that of¹³⁷Cs. The activity ratios of^239,240Pu/¹³⁷Cs tend to increase slightly with increasing soil depth.     

Some aspects of radioactive contamination after Chernobyl accident in Romania

After the Chernobyl disaster, the radioactive cloud passage over Romania beginning with the April 30th, 1986 caused fall-out of different intensities in different regions.. The principal contributors to the radioactive exposure during the month of May and rest of 1986 were the short and medium half-live radionuclides: ¹³²Te+¹³²I, ¹³¹I, ¹⁴⁰Ba+¹⁴⁰La, ¹⁰³Ru+¹⁰³Rh, ¹⁰⁶Ru+¹⁰⁶Rh, ⁹⁵Zr+⁹⁵Nb, ¹³⁶Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹⁴¹Ce, ¹⁴⁴Ce and ¹²⁵Sb. After four-five years only ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr remained significant radioactive contaminants. During May 1986 the grass was the mostly affected component of the environment and it contaminated rapidly the majority of foods. Measurements made on the daily gathered pollen samples and eggs during May 1986 clearly indicated that these samples can be used as bioindicators of radioactive contamination of the atmospheric air and, respectively, for soil and grass. Regarding soil contamination, the higher ^134+137Cs deposits in Romania following the northeast-southwest direction were measured, some of these being above 80 kBq/m². This direction is the same with the cloud passage over Romania during the first week of May 1986 and it was confirmed by measurements in the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, and south of Italy.     

131I,134Cs and137Cs concentrations in 1986 for some Roumanian foodstuffs

Results of post-Chernobyl measurement on some foodstuff samples /eggs, meat, fruit, honey, medicinal herbs/ from South-Eastern Roumania are presented. Gamma-ray spectrometry was used; the radioactive concentration values are given in nCi.kg^–1 wet weight. A strong decrease in concentrations for eggs from 6–7 May /3.0–7.4 nCi for¹³¹I, 0.25–0.40 nCi for¹³⁴Cs, 0.40–0.85 nCi for¹³⁷Cs per one egg, mainly in the yolk/ to 19–25 May /0.3–1.0 nCi for¹³¹I, 0.15–0.25 nCi for¹³⁴Cs, 0.25–0.40 nCi for¹³⁷Cs/ was observed. The mean values for lamb meat /joint muscle/ were 500 nCi.kg^–1 for¹³¹I, 12 nCi.kg^–1 for¹³⁴Cs, 22 nCi.kg^–1 for¹³⁷Cs /18–25 May/. Relatively reduced values were found for fruits, e.g. compared to dairy products¹. In May–June 1986, the food consumption in Roumania was strictly limited and controlled by competent authorities.     

Determination of90Sr and137Cs in mushrooms following the Chernobyl fallout

After the Chernobyl accident high concentrations of radionuclides were found in Sweden in mushrooms and the contents of⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs were measured. The level of⁹⁰Sr was generally low and, in proportion to¹³⁷Cs, 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than in the fallut. The contents of¹³⁷Cs varied among species and extreme local variations occurred. The ratio¹³⁴Cs/¹³⁷Cs diverged from other biological samples leading to the conclusion that old fallout was involved in the uptake.     

90Sr and137Cs in atmospheric precipitations during 1980–1985 in the Bucharest area

Samples of precipitations were collected quarterly and analyzed for⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs. The values obtained ranged from 0.001 to 0.004 Bq dm^–3, with a maximum of 0.010 Bq dm^–3 for⁹⁰Sr;¹³⁷Cs values ranged from 0.001 to 0.005 Bq dm^–3, with a maximum of 0.070 Bq dm^–3. The highest values were observed during the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 1981.     

137Cs activity in surface water in the western North Pacific

Temporal and spatial variations of ¹³⁷Cs activity in surface waters in the western North Pacific are examined along the 165°E transect. ¹³⁷Cs in seawater of the western North Pacific has been introduced by global fallout originating from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, which caused major fallout in the early 1960's. At this time ¹³⁷Cs activities in the surface waters in mid latitudes of the North Pacific were 10–20 Bq·m^-3. South of 30°N, ¹³⁷Cs activity decreased gradually towards the south. The surface ¹³⁷Cs activity was about 5 Bq·m^-3 in the Equatorial region. In the 1970's, the difference in ¹³⁷Cs activities in surface water between mid latitudes and the Equatorial region became smaller. The ¹³⁷Cs activity in surface water at 40°N – Equatorial region was almost constant at the level of 1.7–3.7 Bq·m^-3 in the late 1990's. In the Equatorial region, the ¹³⁷Cs activity in surface water showed no temporal change except for radioactive decay over these four decades. The surface ¹³⁷Cs level was 1.4–1.8 Bq·m^-3 in the north subarctic region around 50°N in the late 1990's. The lower ¹³⁷Cs activity may have been caused by deeper convection in this sea area and dilution by fresh water flux.     

Inventories of 239+240Pu, 137Cs, and excess 210Pb in sediment cores from brackish Lake Obuchi, Rokkasho Village, Japan

The aim of this study was to measure the distribution and inventories of ^239+240Pu, ¹³⁷Cs, and excess ²¹⁰Pb (²¹⁰Pb_excess) in sediment core samples from brackish Lake Obuchi, which is in the vicinity of nuclear fuel facilities in Rokkasho Village, Japan. The inventory of the ^239+240Pu activity in the sediment samples from the estuary of a freshwater river, the central point of the lake, and the deepest point in the lake were 0.18, 0.29, and 0.24 kBq·m^–2, respectively. The inventories of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_excess in sediments were 0.83–1.2 kBq·m^–2 and 25–30 kBq·m^–2, respectively. The mean ^239+240Pu/¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_excess/¹³⁷Cs activity ratios were 0.23 and 28, respectively. The^239+240Pu/¹³⁷Cs activity ratios were approximately 13–24 times the ratio expected from global fallout. The inventories of ^239+240Pu and ²¹⁰Pb in sediments were higher than the inventory expected from atmospheric fallout, but the ¹³⁷Cs inventory was significantly lower than expected.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chernobyl-derived radiocesium in some pharmaceutical plants

The cesium rarioactivity (owing to¹³⁴Cs and¹³⁷Cs) in a number of wild plants of phamaceutical interest harvested in Transylvania was followed during the 1986–1994 period. The data give information on major pathways of vegetable organism contamination through lives from fallout and resuspention and by root uptake from contaminated soil.